by Jackie Nunnery
HEATHSVILLE—A simple request by the school division to transfer $50,000 in appropriated funds from one category to another revealed more troubling practices with school finances and a worsening budgetary hole taxpayers will have to fill. While supervisors unanimously, 5-0, approved the transfer at the special called meeting on Friday, April 25, chairman Richard Haynie said, “This has gone on much too long.”
Because the school budget is appropriated by category, transfers between the categories must be approved by supervisors. According to acting superintendent Dr. Karen Leslie, the $50,000 transfer from instruction to technology was needed to cover payroll expenses for three employees in that department.
“There has been an issue since July 2024 that the accounts were not reconciled correctly, so there was a deficit in the technology account,” she said. She added that invoices submitted at that time were supposed to go toward the 2023-24 budget but were instead applied to the 2024-25 budget.
“That should have left surplus in the previous year’s budget, correct?” supervisor Chip Williams asked.
“In theory, that would be correct,” Leslie said. “However, there was overspending of….
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