October 16, 2014 Board Meeting

As always, these are my opinions only and not the opinions of the Pendleton County School Board or any other individual Board members.

 

Unbridled Learning Test Results

Pendleton County Schools have been given the label of “Needs Improvement/Progressing” by the state.  Our improvement came from the growth scores on standardized testing and the program reviews.  The program reviews were added last fall and are the district’s self-assessment of how well the educational programs are working.  This counts for nearly a quarter of a school’s overall grade.  Northern Elementary joined PCHS this year and are considered “Proficient” schools.  Overall scores at both schools were 71.9.  Southern Elementary’s overall score was 63.8 and earned a “Needs Improvement/Progressing.”  Sharp Middle School earned a 60.7 and is now classified as “Needs Improvement/Focus School.”  This is a step in the wrong direction for Sharp Middle School.  However, I know that our district administration already has steps in place to address this issue.  I would like to thank all the employees in our district for their hard work and dedication to the education of our students.  We can still see growth in the coming years if we stay focused on what is working in the classroom and continue initiatives that will build capacity in our teachers and students.  Additionally, our district spending needs to be centered on instruction.

 Treasurer Report  

After last month’s report from our District “outside” Auditor, I think you would agree that district spending and revenue are worthy of Board discussion on a more regular basis.  Ms. Denise Keene stated last month that our spending was not sustainable.  In fact, Ms. Keene writes in her report “It will be impossible to maintain current programs past 2017 without increasing revenue or reducing expenses.”  (p. 12).  I will also mention again that Ms. Keene reported that we had a decrease in “Ending Net Position” of $1.511 million.  Despite what you may read in our esteemed local press, any questions I had at this meeting were not accusations directed at our Director of Finance.  These concerns were also not about hundreds or even thousands of dollars.  They were concerns about several hundred thousand dollars.  Comments made in a recent news article are simply meant to confuse the reader and deflect attention from the larger issue, which is district administration spending.  I need to stress to the public that as Board members we do not have to submit questions ahead of a meeting.  It is the public meeting of your School Board, and the public has every right to know what is going on and not have the discussion take place behind closed doors.  I also need to stress that budget priorities are not decided by our finance officer, but by the Board (who gives direction to the Superintendent).  There may be false arguments made that try to place budget problem blame on the bookkeeper.  I do not shift my budget oversight and budget direction responsibilities to others.