Guest opinion
Executive questions district's bookkeeping
By Evan D. Masyr Special to the Camarillo Acorn

As you may recall, I spoke somewhat reluctantly at the most recent Pleasant Valley School Board meeting on March 1. I was attending the meeting in support of my wife but was compelled to speak after hearing numerous inconsistent statements being made.

I urged Board President Ron Speakman and the entire board to open up their financial records so that we can truly assess the financial health of the district and to look for other opportunities to solve this issue- if there is in fact truly an issue to be solved.

He challenged me to try to solve the crisis and said he would be happy to listen to any ideas that I may have. He also said that I could review the audited financial statements online. At the conclusion of the meeting, I spoke with Mr. Speakman and other members of the board and to Superintendent Ken Moffett. I informed them that I would need more information than the audited financial statements to be able to identify other opportunities.

I was instructed that I would only have access to the financial statements and no additional information. With only financial statements, I would not have access to see the reckless decision making by the district on issues such as the lease of the University Preparation School.

I am urging the school board to, before making any decision on campus closures, form a financial committee to evaluate the following:

+The current health of the district

+The actual gap between the total compensation of the teachers and support staff in our district versus neighboring districts.

+Other financial opportunities to consider that would meet the stated objectives of the board in order to attract and retain the best teachers.

Until a financial committee with true financial expertise is able to evaluate these issues, it would be appalling for the board to make a decision on campus closures.

I want to clarify something stated by board member Sandra Berg during the meeting. She tried to confirm the financial soundness of the district by saying that they received an "unqualified opinion." She stated she had to ask what that meant but that it indicated financial strength. In reality, an unqualified opinion means that you simply followed the rules. Even Enron received an unqualified opinion before it collapsed.

Certain issues noted from review of the financial report as of June 30:

One of the main issues discussed has been declining enrollment. Page xii of the financial report discusses actual and projected enrollment of the district. Per this report, enrollment declined by only 10 students (or 0.14 percent) in the 2005-06 school year. This was proceeded by an increase of 45 students in the 2004-05 year.

The district is projecting to lose only another 20 students in the 200607 year and has projected 2007-08 to be flat. In other words, this decline in enrollment that is being blamed for the reason we need to close schools comprises a loss of only 30 students over a threeyear period.

The district lost approximately 200 students in the 200203 school year due to the opening of the University Preparation School at the former El Rancho campus. At the current average daily attendance revenue limit of $4,985, we are forgoing approximately $1 million of annual revenue.

The district leases this site to UPS for $1 per year. (This information was not included in the financial statements.) How much money are we getting from leasing the Valle Lindo campus?

Property tax revenue increased more than $900,000 to $20.7 million. Where did that $0.9 million go?

I am sure that between the development of Village at the Park and the rising home values, this number has increased significantly over the past few years. I do not have data prior to 2005.

Closing neighborhood schools could negatively impact future property values and property tax revenue.

"The district's financial status improved slightly over the course of the year.

Total net assets of the district increased by 0.6 percent." (page i) Thus, after paying all expenses, the district has more assets than last year.

These are just a few of the issues that I noticed during my review.

In order to find viable solutions, access to additional information is required.

Again, I implore the board to establish a financial committee to evaluate financial alternatives to closing three campuses.

Masyr, of Camarillo, is vice president of accounting and finance for Camarillobased Salem Communications Corp.