CAT Tracks for February 14, 2003 The Cairo Citizen Reports on "FOP"

Again...you heard it first on the CAT News Network!

Here is the report from our local paper, which DOES provide more details and quotes...

The Cairo School District No. 1 Board of Education received welcome news at its special meeting Feb. 6.

School Superintendent Dr. Robert Isom told the board members that the State Board of Education voted unanimously to accept Cairo's petition for a Financial Oversight Panel.

Isom explained that the State Board should within 10 days appoint the oversight members and then the panel will meet with district officials.

According to Isom the approval means the district is eligible for a $250 grant per student and possible $1,000 low interest loan per student.

"This will enable the district to complete its school year," Isom said.

The district was projected to be out of funds by April, but the grant will add $225,000 to the district's general fund.

Once in place, the oversight panel will give the district the opportunity to revise its financial plans. Isom said the district will have additional assistance through a financial advisor appointed by the oversight panel.

The district, if the oversight panel recommends to the state board of education, could also receive a $1,000 loan per student, which would enable the district to add an additional $900,000 to its general fund. The loan, according to Isom, would only be available if the state board of education recommends to the state legislature. The legislature would then have to appropriate the funding and the governor would have to approve the loan.

Isom said the downside to having an oversight panel is the panel members would do what they feel is best to get the district on sound financial footing. The district will incur fees associated with the expenses of the panel and financial advisor. Those fees will be paid from the grant and possible loan.

If the district receives the loan, the loan will be paid back over a period of three to 10 years according to Isom.

According to Isom if the board had not petitioned for an oversight panel, it would have been left with very few options to secure funding to finish the school year.

"We would have tried to borrow money as in previous years," said Isom. "As a last resort we would have considered issuing state aid anticipation warrants. However, the legislature has not made state aid appropriations this year and the district can’t anticipate if the aid isn’t there. At the very worst, we would have been forced to close early.”

The approval of the oversight panel gives the district an extended period of time to address fiscal problems and remedy them, according to Isom.

The board, said Isom, will retain its present duties except the panel will approve every expenditure.

"It will make it difficult to address emergency expenditures because it would need approval by the oversight panel," Isom said. "The panel will insist we live within our budget."

Isom said he would hope the oversight panel would address the academic needs of the district as well as the pressing needs in the buildings.

"Two buildings, Bennett Elementary and the Cairo Junior High School, will probably close because the infrastructure is deteriorating," he said. "The buildings look good on the outside but actually inside the walls and the foundation are really in bad shape."

The financial oversight panel has received mixed reviews in different districts throughout the state, said Isom.

Ultimately the decision lies with the financial oversight panel to determine if they can help the district, according to Isom.

"If the oversight panel doesn't think they can help or that they have done all they can, they can recommend to the State Board of Education that the district fall under the school finance authority which has broader powers than the oversight panel," Isom said.

Worst case scenario for the district is that they would have to tuition students to other districts.

"That scenario is very costly and would essentially destroy the district," said Isom. "It would have a devastating effect to the city. Not only would we pay what we receive in state aid per student, but also the receiving district's per capita tuition."

Isom remains optimistic that the move to petition for an oversight panel will be beneficial for the Cairo district.

"We still have hopes of a brighter future," he said. "How far down the road that brighter future is stills remains to be determined."