Update: Group Calls for R-12 Resignations Following Critical Audit - OzarksFirst.com

Update: Group Calls for R-12 Resignations Following Critical Audit - OzarksFirst.com



(Springfield, MO) -- A group of Springfield residents who led an effort to have a state audit conducted of the Springfield R-12 public school system is now calling for the resignation of the district Superintendent, Chief Financial Officer and some school board members.
In 2009, the group calling itself the State Audit Petition Coalition collected 5,000 and 4,000 hours of auditing later, Auditor Tom Schweich released the report last Friday.
Among the findings: concerns about the sale of the Hickory Hills property to a buyer who has paid less than $100,000 of the $4.4 million debt; inadequate accounting of meal, activity and concession receipts; and the 2009 purchase of what is now the Kraft Administration Building based on an outdated, 2007 appraisal.
The State Audit Petition Coalition, fronted by spokesman Virgil Hill, held a news conference in Springfield Thursday morning (text below). It claims the reaction to the state audit from both R-12 administrators and school board members makes it unlikely that major changes will come from the audit recommendations.
It condemned the board for extending Superintendent Dr. Norm Ridder's contract, and went a step further.
"We are calling for the resignations and replacement of Superintendent (Dr. Norman) Ridder, Chief Finance Officer (Steve) Chodes, and those Board members who have both consistently failed to perform their principal statutory obligation for fiduciary oversight and are now vigorously resisting implementation of several of the Auditor's recommendations." says Hill.
The group didn't specify which board members it would like to see step down.
Tom Prater, Springfield School Board President, released this statement late Thursday:
"At our first opportunity to publicly discuss the state auditor's findings, Springfield school board members clearly communicated to administrative staff that we expect a prompt and complete assessment of each of the auditor's 51 recommendations.  The auditor has given us 90 days to follow up on these. However, to be accountable to this community, we want to proceed as soon as possible.
"With that in mind, we asked staff to present to us on March 27 an action plan for addressing the recommendations.  Until that time, it is premature for us to make any decisions, or even speculate about decisions we might make.
"After our March 27 meeting we will have clearly defined the process we will follow and can set about the work of making the necessary improvements. This process will take time. Changes cannot be made overnight since many of them have budget and staffing implications.

"We have confidence that administrative staff will come forward with a solid action plan that will align with our system of continuous improvement and I look forward to sharing more information with the community at that time."


Previous Reports
MO State Auditor Releases Audit of Springfield Public Schools, Gives "Fair" Rating

Read the complete audit  

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