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Treasurer: District will need help
Liberty
The school district will need help paying its bills come December, Treasurer James Wilson told the commission formed to get the district out of fiscal-emergency status.
Three members of the state auditor’s office and Wilson still are working through the district’s financial records to determine its deficit — a figure they must have before they can request state financial help. Wilson didn’t know how much money the district would need in December.
Roger Nehls, the commission’s chairman, who has worked in some form with eight fiscal commissions, said the district’s need for aid is normal, but districts in fiscal emergency usually need it closer to the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30.
The district, he said Wednesday, will have two options for financial aid. First is an interest-free solvency advance from the state that must be approved by a legislative controlling board in Columbus.
“That has to be put on [the controlling board’s] agenda weeks and weeks in advance with all the supporting data and documentation,” he said.
The other is a loan through a commercial bank called a tax-advance note. The district can borrow the money it expects to receive in property-tax settlement in February or March, but the loan must be paid back before the end of the fiscal year.
“If they get a [tax-advance note], they must pay interest on the loan, which is money [the district doesn’t] have,” he said during the fiscal commission’s meeting Wednesday.
The meeting was also a chance for Liberty to present the commission with its academic strengths and challenges. Superintendent Stan Watson and Curriculum Director Pam McCurdy began the presentation by pointing out 57.8 percent of its students are economically disadvantaged and rely heavily on programs like pre-kindergarten training.
The commission must evaluate all of the district’s programs so it can decide which go on the chopping block in order to put the district on firm financial footing.
The commission will meet next at 11 a.m. Sept. 14 in the high school’s community room.
The board of education also announced a special meeting for Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. also in the community room. Board President Diana DeVito said the board will vote on the financial settlement with its two former charter schools it approved closing in June.