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School woes Saturday, Jul 5, 2008 By Doug Thompson The prospect of forced consolidation of the Greenland and Decatur school districts is the biggest news in Benton and Washington counties right now. No pundit worth his space in the paper can ignore it. Unfortunately, there's not much to say, at least not as far as Greenland's concerned. The district's board and administration had five years to fix district finances. They moved slow, aimed low and failed. The state put Greenland on fiscal distress in 2003. The district got into the black in 2006 but didn't stay there. One reason was because the district couldn't get voter approval of a 3-mill tax increase in 2006. Now - after five years of struggle - the district's borrowed $121,000 to make up for this year's deficit. School districts in Arkansas can't legally run a deficit. The state Board of Education will forcefully remind Greenland of that at the board's July 14 meeting. When the district's neck was stretched over a stump and the consolidation ax already falling, voters were finally offered and approved a 2.6-mill property tax increase. Too little too late: It's like slowing down to the speed limit when the blue lights showed up in the rear view mirror. This is not a case of a struggling little district doing all it can in the face of a heartless, blind government steamroller. This is a district that could have made it. It should have made it. If it gets another chance, it should be surprised and very, very grateful. Greenland's not the sweet spot for economic development in the region. The city of Greenland, for instance, still has a building moratorium because of a lack of wastewater capacity and other infrastructure. Still, the area's economy's in better shape than much of the rest of Arkansas where school districts manage to pay their bills without loans. The district's consolidation with Winslow schools made voter-approved tax increases very difficult. I know that. My response is, "No kidding." Winslow was forced into consolidation. None of the surrounding districts could afford to keep the schools open in Winslow. All the surrounding districts told Winslow patrons that - except Greenland. Let's assume that Greenland board members acted in good faith and believed they could keep the Winslow schools open, that they weren't cynically expecting to get more state per-pupil money and close the schools anyway. Sheds some light on why Greenland could never get a grip on its finances, doesn't it? Greenland closed Winslow schools after one year. Winslow students - and their per-pupil state taxpayer money - got transfers to West Fork. Greenland got all the expense of a larger district and none of the benefits, plus a lot of voters in Winslow who believe they were baited and switched. Whatever else happens on July 14, the state should give the people of Winslow a break. The biggest portion of their old district should go to West Fork. That's what should have happened in the first place and that's where many of the students are already. If some members of the former Winslow district want to go elsewhere, the board should listen. I'm a patron of the Fayetteville district and have two kids in school there. I'm not looking forward to having a large body of Greenland patrons forced into our district against their will, but at least we won't make them any promises we can't keep. I have more sympathy for Decatur. Administrators there didn't know they were running a deficit until after the district's treasurer left, apparently. The board and administration should have kept track, but I don't think they need me to point that out. The bottom line is that they're running a deficit too, a very serious one projected to be more that $634,000 in the upcoming school year. Another big problem is that Social Security taxes for some employees haven't been paid. That's something that requires a quick response. The response so far by board members and school patrons has been quick. Whether it's enough remains to be seen since nobody really knows the full extent of the problem yet. The board is cooperating with the state in sorting out the finances, is seeking outside, private bookkeeping help and appointed an interim superintendent. That kind of response will help when they go to the state board. It's the kind of response Greenland should have had five years ago. --------- Doug Thompson is a Fayetteville-based reporter and columnist for the Arkansas News Bureau and the Morning News. His e-mail address is dthompson@arkansasnews.com. |
