Facing some difficult decisions on the restructuring of Calhoun County Schools following the destruction some facilities suffered during Hurricane Michael, Calhoun County School Superintendent Ralph Yoder and the School Board has decided to seek input from citizens. At last week’s School Board meeting, a motion was made and passed to hold a town hall meeting at the Blountstown Middle School auditorium Tuesday, December 18.
Superintendent Yoder was expected to present a proposal on the restructuring of county schools and then public discussion would follow to address concerns, offer suggestions and opinions.
Since last week’s School Board meeting, it has also been decided to hold a special School Board meeting on Wednesday, December 19 at 4:00 p.m., also in the BMS auditorium. The Board will once again be asking for comments and suggestions from citizens.
Mr. James Hamilton, a Ph.D. who works as a lobbyist and consultant for Florida public school districts, has done an extensive report on the school district at the request of Superintendent Yoder. In his report, he examined the revenues and expenditures of the district to determine if there are revenue sources that are available that the district has not accessed and to identify expenditures that could be reduced significantly enough to addres the fiscal needs of the district.
The report clearly stated that the district’s fiscal position was very difficult prior to Hurricane Michael, and that the long range outlook was equally challenging at that time. “The analysis of district revenue from FY 2007-2008 throught FY 2018-2019 clearly shows the district was adversely impacted by the recession, and that the purchasing power of revenue has not recovered to pre-recession leavels and cannot cover cost increases”.
