The Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School Board learned last October that the State Auditor’s Office was requiring it to dissolve accounts that hold scholarship funds to which people have donated over the years.
It had several options for how this could be done, and one of these was to ask each donor to direct the district in transferring the money to a charity or nonprofit of the donor’s choice.
The board selected this plan of action, and it has been slow going.
Before the transfers can be made, the district has to receive documentation that the recipient organization has been approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt, charitable organization with a 501(c)(3) number.
The topic came up in a board meeting Thursday regarding the status of transferring the Alix Sanders Scholarship Fund. The donor of that fund, Senior Circuit Judge Betty Sanders, had contacted the district about what was needed. So far, the transfer has not been made.
Alix Sanders, who is deceased, was an attorney for the former Greenwood Public Schools board and a longtime member of the Leflore County Board of Supervisors.
“We sure got behind in getting that information to her,” said Magdalene Abraham, a board member. “I’d like to see all of that expedited.”
Kellia Washington, finance director, said it’s not been clear in some cases who the donors might be, especially if the funds were established decades ago. The board took no action, and disposition of the funds remains on its table.
There was no information on the amount of money in the scholarship funds.
The special called meeting also included a closed session following an employee grievance hearing. The board denied the grievance with a 3-0 vote.
- Contact Susan Montgomery at 581-7241 or smontgomery@gwcommonwealth.com.
