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PHOENIX (AP) -- Colorado City School District's administrative staff has been cut in half, its 52 credit cards have been canceled and half of its 18 vehicles have been sold, authorities said.
According to a report made Monday to the state Board of Education, the staff cuts and disposal of property are part of a state takeover triggered in December when the board found the district had "grossly mismanaged" its money.
The 378-student district sits in a remote community on the Arizona-Utah line that is home to several polygamist religious sects.
State-appointed receiver Peter Davis also cut the district's 35 cellphones down to seven and closed a 60,000-square-foot office building, where only 10 staff members were working. That should save about $70,000 a year in utility bills.
Davis also cut 27 non-classroom employees to about 14, which is expected to save about $450,000 by the end of next school year.
The district's airplane will be auctioned next month.
Eventually, Davis wants to raise the $17,000 starting salary for teachers.
The district has an operating budget of about $2.2 million. But it owes the state $360,000 for budget overruns, has a bond debt of $1.2 million, and owes $1.3 million to the Arizona School Risk Retention Trust, which has been helping it cover checks.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
