Financial difficulties begin to smooth out at Cherokee Schools

Dark financial days may be moving into the past at Cherokee, judging by Superintendent Bryce Schanbacher's comments to the school board at its regular meeting Monday evening.

The school has signed an agreement, approved in this meeting, with ACB Bank to reduce its indebtedness in the form of nonpayable warrants.

Present were board members Kory Littlefield, Kurtis Goodwin, Amber Wilhite, Desiree Gibson and Shane Parker. Also present were Superintendent Bryce Shanbacher and recent-hires Lane Pruett, the junior and senior high principal, and Keela Patterson, the elementary principal.

“On our summary of financial activity sheet, you'll find that the general fund shows a negative $24,000,” began Schanbacher. “It's really a little more complicated than that. There's a judgment that we did with ACB Bank. That amount was actually closer to $130,000” in the red, he said.

“So, finishing the year out, basically we're starting at zero, starting from scratch. The difference is starting in July our revenue is already ahead $50,000 more than it was at this time last year. So, it's a good start to the year, and that's because gross production is up from where it was last year at this time, and our expenses are down quite a bit for this month also because of the adjustments and different things that we've done.”

The building fund is “in good enough shape that we'll be able to continue paying some salaries,” he said. “Our lunch fund is in real good shape, and the USDA reimbursement program for meals – students continue to eat free, breakfast and lunch, all year.”

The sinking fund also has a negative balance, he said, and will continue to until the protests are settled. “We'll just have to see as the year progresses how much longer that might have to stay on there until those things are collected,” he said. “We really have no control over that.”

New Principals' Reports

Elementary Principal Keela Patterson reported that the students performed well in end-of-year testing.

“In third grade, which is the big testing grade, 97% of our students are moving on, which is amazing,” she said. “In fourth grade, 90% scored basic or above, and in fifth grade 93% scored basic or above.”

Patterson has been working on the 2021-22 schedule. She also said the school will begin to transition to the new English/Language Arts standards released by the state department of education. The state testing will be based on those new standards as of 2023.

Junior and Senior High Principal Lane Pruett told the board that junior and senior enrollment will be Aug. 3, from 6 to 8 p.m., in the high school cafeteria. The rest of 6-12 enrollment will be Aug. 4, from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the cafeteria.

FCCLA just returned from their national leadership conference in Nashville, he said. Several students were recognized there, two of them with gold medals. Hope Jordan won second place overall.

The FFA officer retreat was last Friday. This Friday, July 16, Cherokee will host a statewide cow-grading competition. They have several other activities coming up as well.

Miss Cherokee will be Aug. 5 at 7 p.m.

Counseling for Students Funded for 3 Years

The school will be able to offer counseling to students for the next three years, thanks to a Counselor Corp grant and the school's Esser Funds. The board approved an agreement with Karole Robertson and Alisha Bigheart to provide the counseling.

“Karole has provided services to several of our students,” said Schanbacher, “and last year we used Covid funds to pay for her to come on.” Robertson will be onsite 5.5 hours a day twice a week. “She sees a lot of elementary age students,” noted Schanbacher. Alisha Bigheart has also worked with some Cherokee students in the past.

“We've been awarded a competitive grant with the Counselor Corp,” Schanbacher said. This is the first year the grants have been offered. The school received $45,500 for the next three years to help address the social and emotional needs of students. Of that, $32,000 will go toward a possible elementary guidance counselor position, and $13,500 will go toward contract services for Bigheart. “We will cover the remaining cost of that with the Esser Funds that we got awarded,” Schanbacher said.

In other personnel-related news, after returning from executive session the school board approved hiring the following staff:

• Hailey Cudmore, part time librarian

• Malerie Cline, elementary special education resource teacher

• Kelsey Chace, first grade teacher

• Tamara Goeken, part time high school math

They also approved contracting with Jana Hickman for OT services, as the school has done for several years.

Other Board Business

In other financial news, the school will rent a house it owns to an individual who plans to open a daycare; that individual will be paying rent. Schanbacher said he knows daycare is a big need in the community, but it's not something the school will be providing at this point.

The board approved reducing bus drivers' pay. Until then, drivers had been paid via a stipend included in their regular paycheck. But that meant that if the individual were not present, the school had to hire a driver, which meant the task of driving was being paid for twice when the individual paid the stipend was not present. The board approved an hourly rate for bus drivers of $16.50 for certified drivers and $15 for noncertified.

The board also approved changing the school's phone service from AT&T to KanOkla – a move that Schanbacher expects will cut phone service costs in half – from about $500 a month to about $240 a month.

The board approved activity fund end-of-year transfers, including $664 transferred from the Class of 2019 Account 851 to the Beautification Account 840. When a class's funds have been left in an account for two years, the school can zero out that account so the money can be used. A class leaving a balance in its fund is not unusual, although leaving such a large amount is. The Class of 2020 account still has a balance of $35.

The board also approved:

• minutes of past meetings

• encumbrances, purchase orders and warrants for the general, building and children's nutrition funds

• supplemental for child nutrition fund

• annual contract with Kellogg and Sovereign Consulting for e-rate filing services.