The cost of responding to a Mississippi Department of Education audit and other unforeseen expenses have tacked on more than $700,000 to the Greenwood School District budget.
Legal bills, staff overtime, consultants’ fees and about $100,000 worth of modifications to district facilities — all spent to address and respond to the deficiencies noted in MDE’s audit report — added unbudgeted costs during the current school year, Superintendent Montrell Greene told the Greenwood School Board on Tuesday.
Greene said the replacement of phone systems in some schools and the estimated costs of holding a termination hearing for former Assistant Superintendent Mary Brown — which is ongoing and set to resume Thursday — also contributed to the $700,000 in unexpected expenses.
A detailed breakdown of the additions to the district’s budget was not immediately available. A public records request has been filed with the district.
The unannounced audit by officials from MDE, which was conducted last spring, uncovered numerous alleged violations of state of state and federal policies.
A scathing 46-page report based on the audit’s findings was released in July and resulted in the Department of Education recommending a state takeover of the district. A state commission voted against recommending a takeover, instead allowing the district more time to correct violations noted in the report. The report’s findings have since been cleared, and the district’s accreditation was fully restored in December.
In its scramble to respond to the audit report, the district hired Butler Snow, a Jackson law firm, and Jim Keith, a well-known education attorney, to help represent the district.
Greene said staff members were also paid a substantial amount of overtime as they worked to inspect files and facilities and prepare a formal response to the charges.
As part of its response, the district paid to install a second means of exit in numerous classrooms and paid to fix other deficiencies in school buildings.
The district also retained a number of consultants to help fix problems, including extensively rewriting the school board’s policies.
The board approved more than 150 pages of new policies during Tuesday’s meeting by a vote of 4-1. Board Member Kathy Whicker voted against adopting the policies, saying she hadn’t had time to read over the proposals and didn’t feel comfortable approving them without first reviewing the changes.
As part of his presentation on the budget revisions, Greene also presented the board with three plans to cut other expenses from the budget, with a total anticipated savings of approximately $310,000. Greene declined to discuss details of the savings plans, though he did indicate that at least some of the proposed cuts might involve the elimination of some jobs in the district.
Greene said this morning that the district’s budget would be revised again during the course of the year and that Tuesday’s update was designed to keep the school board informed on the current financial situation in the district.
In other business Tuesday:
nWhicker said she’d spoken with representatives from Milwaukee Electric Tool about a possible partnership between the manufacturer and the district’s Career and Technical Center to help train students. The board approved a resolution authorizing a committee to look into the possible collaboration.
nBill Clay was re-elected to serve another year as president of the board.
nGreene said that Deputy Superintendent Chester Leigh has already begun hunting for teachers to fill open positions for next school year, far earlier than in years past. Positions will be posted on the district’s website, and Leigh will also be attending job fairs at colleges and universities in the state, Greene said.
• Contact Bryn Stole at 581-7235 or bstole@gwcommonwealth.com.
