The Winlock School District is facing a significant budget shortfall after years of mishandling of funds, according to the teachers’ union president.
The scale of the budget shortfall is not yet apparent as the district continues to examine its current financial situation. While the district had previously sought to address its financial situation, including considering a now tabled proposal to terminate five employees during a school board meeting in early February, the district is now facing a budget shortfall larger than had been previously anticipated.
“I don’t know if people really knew at that board meeting how bad the budget situation was,” teachers’ union president Tori Nelson told The Chronicle, referring to the February school board meeting, which drew a crowd upset over the proposal. “I don’t know if our school board even knew our budget situation.”
Nelson told The Chronicle there are now estimates the district’s budget shortfall may be as large as $1.8 million. She said money appears to have been mishandled during the administration of the previous Winlock School District Superintendent Garry Cameron, who announced he was resigning from his position during the school board meeting in February.
“I just don’t think our previous superintendent was honest about everything that was happening. I think our board just kind of took his word on things,” Nelson said.
According to Nelson, the business manager Cameron hired a couple of years ago failed to pay some of the district’s bills, resulting in the budget shortfall the Winlock School District now faces. Nelson added she wasn’t sure whether Cameron was aware of the district’s failure to pay its bills or if only the business manager he hired knew. She said the size of the budget shortfall has come as a surprise to those in the district, adding it’s not yet apparent what the district will do to address the issue.
“Things look a little bleak, to say the least,” Nelson said. “We were all smacked in the face.”
While the district continues to examine the scale of its financial problems, Nelson said she has confidence in the new members of the school district’s administration. She said the previous business manager who failed to make payments on the district’s bills left last summer and a new business manager was hired in December. The district also has a new superintendent, Bob Garrett, who took over in March.
“Now we have a business manager who has a business degree so that’s been nice,” Nelson said. “I think we have the right people in the right places now.”
While the district has new administrators, Nelson said Winlock schools still have to get through what she referred to as “this brutal time.” Nelson told The Chronicle she believes it's time to start solving the district’s financial problems rather than blaming individuals.
“I think it’s probably time to stop pointing fingers. … I think it’s time to buckle down,” Nelson said. “Less focus on blame and more focus on how we survive this.”
The Chronicle attempted to reach Garrett for comment but had not received a response as of Monday. The Chronicle also reached out to a member of the Winlock School Board, who declined to comment.
A meeting of the Winlock School Board will be held 7 p.m. May 17 at the Winlock High School library during which the district’s financial status will be discussed.
