1. Accountability and performance
have a lot in common, without one serving the other, then one could possibly
consider fraud. This division does have
some serious problems, but all schools are accredited.
Of special interest is the amount of absenteeism in the system especially the high school. Reviewing the 2019 records 329 students were chronically absent, meaning 10 per-cent or more days for the school year.
This amounts to 3,290 school days at an approximate cost of $68.31 a student or $244,740 of wasted taxpayer’s contribution to the system for one school. Combining the elementary and middle schools the total was 368 or $251,381. A grand total right at a half million for the school year not counting those with less than 10 days out.
Since the funding for the school system is divided three ways the only marker for accountability is the local contribution. Years ago, a sitting board raised the percentage by 6 points above the composite index figure where it has stayed ever since.
Recommend that to improve upon and decrease absenteeism the Board of Supervisor’s reduce funding by a given percentage point/s until attendance hits a pre-determined level of accountability.
At the same time with all these students absent, all the schools are accredited, 94 percent graduate on time. One needs to consider either the student is smarter than the teachers, or the system has been dumbed down so far even a moron is a genius. I wonder what the businessman has to say about our graduates. A survey may be helpful.
2. At the same time when we talk funding by the state, they fund under many standards unknown by the general public. If our composite index is 38 cents, then the state would provide 62 cents to meet the operating revenue fund for the county. Wrong they only fund 52 percent, or a shortchange of approximately 2 million.
Additionally, the budget when approved may not reflect the true revenues since the funding is set on attendance at the end of September the first month of the new school year. This revenue amount is also adjusted at the end of March of the same school year, which could be a plus or minus of students, also effecting the
Development of the next fiscal budget
year.
The solution is for the school board
with cooperation with other boards request the General Assembly review their
multiples of funding and reduce the process to a local standard percentage of
revenue intake and have the state provide the rest.
If this is not possible then one might possibly perceive that in reality, we are broke or bankrupt.
I thank you for the time.
Publisher's Note: School Board Chairperson, Robin Rice only allowed 3 minutes for comments even though there were only a handful of people at the meeting. She did not allow Mr. Mowry to complete his comments.
Video Of November 12th School Board Meeting
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