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School district rebuilds after financial meltdown
Wednesday, October 08, 2008 | No comments posted.
PORTLAND (AP) — Teachers in one of Oregon’s largest school districts fear they will lose their jobs. Field trips and bus routes are being cut.
And tensions are mounting as school board members and an interim superintendent try to clean up the budget in the Reynolds School District, which serves suburbs east of Portland.
“If you’re asking could this have been prevented years ago,” district business director Chuck Rhoads said, “the answer is, hell yes.”
The trouble began in 2003, when the district that serves suburbs in northeast Multnomah County, took its share of millions handed out through a temporary income tax in Multnomah County.
The money was intended to help schools cover gaps between state funding and the needs of growing and increasingly diverse student populations.
Many districts banked it or used it for one-time purposes, but Reynolds increased staffing and got some of the least crowded schools in the metro district.
Since then, the district has gone through an outside audit that suggests the district hire an accountant and a call from board members for a savings account equaling 5 percent of the operating budget at the end of every year.
In 2007-2008, the school board learned the district miscalculated its savings. It had also miscalculated enrollment projections, prompting the state to unexpectedly cut millions from its payment to Reynolds.
Meanwhile, internal documents show Rhoads tried to warn district leaders for years. In June, Rhoads proposed two levels of cuts that would save the district $9.4 million.
In August, after budget projections fell through, the school board placed Superintendent Terry Kneisler on paid administrative leave. Since then, he has left, with a $200,000 severance package.
Debby Hunn, who became the district’s accountant in January, found the district hadn’t budgeted basic expenses for vacation payroll, utilities or high school graduation.
Last week, the board installed an interim superintendent, Robert Fisher, expecting him to make cuts. He said he is sorting through the budget.
And as Hunn struggled to balance the books, the district spent $5 million more than expected between February and June. The business department warned of a plummeting savings account.
“There are plenty of places in the district to point that finger,” Hunn said. “But that’s not where we need to be. We can’t blame each other anymore.”
And tensions are mounting as school board members and an interim superintendent try to clean up the budget in the Reynolds School District, which serves suburbs east of Portland.
“If you’re asking could this have been prevented years ago,” district business director Chuck Rhoads said, “the answer is, hell yes.”
The trouble began in 2003, when the district that serves suburbs in northeast Multnomah County, took its share of millions handed out through a temporary income tax in Multnomah County.
The money was intended to help schools cover gaps between state funding and the needs of growing and increasingly diverse student populations.
Many districts banked it or used it for one-time purposes, but Reynolds increased staffing and got some of the least crowded schools in the metro district.
Since then, the district has gone through an outside audit that suggests the district hire an accountant and a call from board members for a savings account equaling 5 percent of the operating budget at the end of every year.
In 2007-2008, the school board learned the district miscalculated its savings. It had also miscalculated enrollment projections, prompting the state to unexpectedly cut millions from its payment to Reynolds.
Meanwhile, internal documents show Rhoads tried to warn district leaders for years. In June, Rhoads proposed two levels of cuts that would save the district $9.4 million.
In August, after budget projections fell through, the school board placed Superintendent Terry Kneisler on paid administrative leave. Since then, he has left, with a $200,000 severance package.
Debby Hunn, who became the district’s accountant in January, found the district hadn’t budgeted basic expenses for vacation payroll, utilities or high school graduation.
Last week, the board installed an interim superintendent, Robert Fisher, expecting him to make cuts. He said he is sorting through the budget.
And as Hunn struggled to balance the books, the district spent $5 million more than expected between February and June. The business department warned of a plummeting savings account.
“There are plenty of places in the district to point that finger,” Hunn said. “But that’s not where we need to be. We can’t blame each other anymore.”
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