McDonald schools facing more than $1.3M in bills

By Mary Smith

McDONALD — The village school district has more than $1.3 million in unpaid bills.

The bills will be paid once the district receives its loan for $2.1 million from the state, Treasurer Brian Stidham said. That could be this week or early next week.

Stidham noted that the state controlling board approved an advance on state funds to help make payroll for October. Action was taken by the Local Government Services Office of the state auditor to get an advance for the district to make all of October’s payroll.

Biweekly payroll is between $150,000 and $153,000, he said.

He said the $2.1 million is to carry the district through June 30, before which the state commission appointed to work out a recovery plan will have begun to put a plan in place.

Stidham said the district knew when he started as treasurer Sept. 28 that it had overspent because checks were bouncing.

Stidham prepared a report for the school board of bills yet to be paid, and it totals $1,344,386.59.

He said vendors for the district have all been willing to “carry us” because they know money is on the way. These include food suppliers, janitorial supplies vendors and all of the utility companies.

Stidham said he called each of them and explained the situation. He added the three insurance providers, the consortium for medical and prescription and the separate companies for dental and vision care have all continued to cover the district’s employees.

The district’s only income at this time is state money.

“Hopefully, the levy will pass,” Stidham said of next week’s vote on a 4.9-mill, five-year emergency levy.

He said the district will be undergoing a performance audit also conducted by the state auditor’s office to compare how it functions with other district’s its size.

Unpaid bills left by former Treasurer Thomas Radabaugh include some bills that were not in the treasurer’s office, Stidham said. Others were checks that were cut but were placed in file cabinets and never sent out.

A tax anticipation note of $600,000 plus interest must be paid, and other such payments are due in December, Stidham said.

The district also had a tax lien placed against it by the federal government for nonpayment of payroll tax. The bill was for $55,000, and penalties were $7,500. The bill was for the first quarter of 2009, from January to March. The second quarter had penalties of $5,850. The bills were paid and the problem cleared up in September.

Stidham noted, however, that there are still state taxes to be paid, which will come to just over $35,000, that go back to November and December 2008 and January to June 2009.

He said there will be penalties and interest on those bills as well.

Other bills include utilities, consortiums the district belongs to, such as medical coverage, where payment arrangements were made but never followed through on.

He added that the district still owes $70,785.46 in unpaid severance to a firm that handles payments for the district.