The Potterville Public Schools district is beginning to plan how to deal with the district’s nearly one-million-dollar deficit.
At a meeting Monday night, the Potterville Board of Education formally approved a revised budget. It recognizes the shortfall, which was not discovered until last fall.
Acting Superintendent Sam Sinicropi says his next step will be filing a series of reports with the state.
“One is due in March and the other is due at the end of the month. So, that’s where we’re going to start,” he said. "I’ll work with staff, and we’ll look at everything. Nothing’s set in stone right now.”
School Board President Thomas Marciniak says when it comes to deciding which budget items will be cut to make up for the deficit, they’ll consider every spending category.
“Everything’s really on the table with it,” Marciniak said. “It’s going to be a multi-year thing, though. You can’t make up all of that money at one time. We’re going to have to do quarterly reports.”
He says those reports will let the state know what steps Potterville has been taking, and what progress it has made in working to eliminate its deficit.
Sinicropi says the cause of the deficit is still under investigation. An audit released in December found the district’s financial problems were caused in part by poor budgeting and raised questions about how officials handled cash and receipts.