GREENLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS : Interim leader hired amid crisis
Posted on Tuesday, July 1, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/66691/
GREENLAND — The Board of Education appointed middle school Principal J. J. Gardenhire as interim superintendent at a special meeting Monday evening.
Gardenhire will take over for Ron Brawner. The board demanded Brawner resign or be fired at a special meeting last week amid a threat of forced annexation by the Arkansas Department of Education due to financial problems.
The Arkansas State Board of Education is expected to act at a July 14 meeting on Education Department Commissioner Ken James ’ recommendation that Greenland be annexed.
“ The end time (of Gardenhire’s appointment ) will be determined by events that are about ready to happen, ” board President Bill Groom said.
Gardenhire was appointed with little discussion, and the five members present did not go into closed session to discuss the matter before the vote. Board members James Miller and Terry Reed were absent.
Groom said Gardenhire did a good job for the district as interim superintendent for about two months during the spring while Brawner was on medical leave.
Gardenhire was actually serving in that capacity in April when the state board placed the district on the fiscal distress list for financially troubled districts.
Groom said there was nothing new to report on Brawner’s status except that he has not submitted his resignation. Groom said he hopes to talk to Brawner later this week.
Groom reported the district finished the fiscal year on Monday with a final negative balance of $ 121, 000. Last week, the district and state had predicted the district would finish $ 140, 000 in the red.
The shortfall was covered by a $ 121, 000 loan the district obtained from First State Bank, where it has a line of credit, Groom said.
“ We got approval from the Department of Ed to borrow that, ” he said.
Since the district is on fiscal distress, new loans require department approval.
The district is scheduled to receive a deposit of about $ 190, 000 today due to a delay in how certain portions of local property taxes can be counted on the fiscal year. The delay in being able to count those tax dollars was one of the reasons the loan was needed.
Gardenhire and Groom said the new loan will be paid back later this fiscal year, but it will probably help provide a cushion to cover expenses in the shortterm.
Groom said the district is in the process of updating its fiscal distress plan and developing a final budget for the 2008-09 school year.
The district has expressed hope that with the voterapproved millage increase of 2. 6 mills on June 10, it can overcome the fiscal woes if given a chance by the state.
Groom said on Monday the district still has a good debt ratio in terms of borrowing power.
Gardenhire said he has worked with the district for 11 years, including nine as high school principal and one as middle school principal.
He also worked two stints as superintendent of Winslow School District, which was annexed by the Greenland district in 2004 due to a new consolidation law, which add up to seven years.
During the meeting, board member Dennis Caudle announced that an account had been set up at Pulaski Bank, which has taken over some of the former ANB branches in Northwest Arkansas, where people can contribute funds toward the school. The account number is 90022300, he said.
Caudle said he; Gar y Ricker, Greenland police chief; and Wes Cannon, Greenland superintendent from 1987 to 1999; will administer the account.
The name on the account is Greenland School Supporters, Caudle said.
Some citizens are planning a “ Community Day” to support the school on the Fourth of July, Groom said.
Activities will likely include a yard sale, games and concession stands. It will be held on the Greenland campus.
There are also some plans to sell T-shirts.
They will be “ along the lines of ‘ save our school’ Tshirts, ” Groom said.
Caudle said about 20 businesses have expressed a willingness to make donations for the event.