More transparency, budget scrutiny urged for Scott City school district

A union consultant recommended the Scott City school board address district budget concerns and be more transparent in its dealings Tuesday during a special meeting.

About 20 people attended the meeting, which was set after the Aug. 16 regular board meeting, when the school board heard concerns from teachers about a lack of transparency surrounding the 2017-2018 budget.

In it, superintendent Brian Lee's salary increased while teachers did not receive a raise. The base salary for teachers will not increase for the 2017-2018 school year, and step increases will not apply to every teacher, according to board officials.

At the Aug. 16 meeting, Renee Bates, a field-service coordinator with the Missouri State Teachers Association, offered to bring a financial consultant to a special board meeting to address budget concerns and make recommendations on the salary schedule.

Sid Doerhoff, a salary consultant with MSTA, is a former superintendent of schools in St. Elizabeth, Missouri, about 30 miles south of Jefferson City.

As an outside consultant, Doerhoff said he wouldn't be able to address every area fully with insight, but he could make recommendations.

Some classes in a non-core subject could be reviewed to see whether they were necessary, for example, he said.

Beyond that, a school directory provided by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education showed 107 certified staff members but only 72.5 teachers, Doerhoff said.

After subtracting one superintendent and three principals, the district has 30.5 other staff members, and each of those should be analyzed to determine need.

"It's not a sin, but you need to keep a good handle on that amount," he said.

The salary schedule also could be reviewed, Doerhoff said, with an eye to attracting and retaining talent.

Instead of a flat $707 increase at each step on the schedule, as is the current model, Doerhoff suggested changing the size of some steps to be more competitive with neighboring districts.

As for the superintendent's raise, Doerhoff said he would ask teachers to keep in mind the importance of having a superintendent who cares about the district and how competitive salaries need to be to keep talent.

That's the importance of knowing what neighboring districts are paying to justify the board's actions, he said.

Doerhoff said salaries reported to DESE don't give the entire picture, either.

Benefits including insurance, additional vacation time and other considerations aren't part of the dollar figure.

Doerhoff encouraged the board to review the salary schedule and see what adjustments could be made to benefit the most teachers and boost teacher retention.

As for the 2017-2018 budget, Doerhoff said he considered the district's $130,000 deficit a concern, but he didn't have enough information to determine whether the deficit was because of one-time expenses or recurring expenditures, such as salary.

To increase transparency, Doerhoff recommended the board send at least one member to salary-committee meetings as a liaison.

Making a report from the salary committee a standing school-board meeting agenda item is another recommended practice, Doerhoff said.

MSTA field service coordinator Renee Bates said the board, superintendent and salary committee should work together to determine what makes the most sense to communicate effectively, but Doerhoff's recommendations were a good start.

Doerhoff said one other issue that stood out was board policy about the superintendent's contract.

To be competitive, the contract is for three years, he said.

But according to board policy, salary technically cannot be changed during the contract's term.

Doerhoff said that ties the hands of the board if a superintendent gets a better offer from another district.

"I'd take a hard look at it," he said.

Lee's current contract began July 1, and his salary increase was approved in June, according to meeting minutes.

A meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 11 will address concerns about the superintendent's contract negotiations and errors in an informational packet from the board to the district's teachers that was dated Aug. 16 but distributed Aug. 15.

Board president Beth Cox said she plans to consult the district's attorney about board policy before the meeting.

A corrected copy of the informational packet distributed to teachers should be available on the district's website by Friday, Cox said after the meeting.

"In the end, we have to solve this deficit problem," Doerhoff said.

Teacher and salary committee member Lance Amick said the real problem was misinformation given Aug. 15.

MSTA's Bates said she hopes the Sept. 11 school board meeting is an opportunity to address that.

Said Doerhoff, "It's really important to earn public trust. You're dealing with public money; you need public trust. You have to earn that trust and keep it."

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

3000 Main St., Scott City, Mo.