mcdonald schools Panel disbands as district is released from fiscal emergency

February 29, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

McDONALD

The state Finance and Planning Commission for McDonald schools disbanded Wednesday, after the district was informed by the state auditor’s office that it was released from fiscal emergency.

The commission requested the release in November 2011, after the local school board made the same request in September.

“Coming back after fiscal emergency is an uphill battle for any entity, and each community must make the difficult choices that work best for them,” state Auditor Dave Yost said. “I congratulate the McDonald schools and community for facing their challenges and bringing fiscal health back to their school district.”

Local board members attended the commission session, and a celebration was sponsored by schools Superintendent Ken Halbert after the meeting.

The Local Government Services Office reviewed the current five-year forecast for the district, which now shows a projected balance of $1.233 million in 2016.

The district was declared in fiscal emergency in October 2009, when it found itself with a deficit of $2.001 million.

The district borrowed $2 million from the state’s solvency fund to cover that shortfall.

Since then, cuts have been made totaling more than $700,000, according to the state auditor.

Employee contract concessions save the district almost $230,000 a year, the state auditor’s office said.

Renegotiating contracts with outside vendors saves more than $53,000 annually, bringing the total in cuts and cost-saving to $983,000, a figure local treasurer Brian Stidham says “make sense.”

Two emergency operating levies have been passed, and the district learned it would be keeping $500,000 in state foundation money instead of having it cut under the new state biennium budget.

A 4.9-mill, five-year emergency levy to generate $260,000 a year was passed in November 2009, and a May 2011 levy for 10.75 mills was passed to generate $580,000 for five years. That millage was reduced to 7.25 mills and the levy will generate $389,000 after the district learned of its state foundation money.

Anticipated deficits at the end of fiscal years 2012 and 2013 have been reversed to expected balances.