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FARRAGUT, Iowa (AP) — A southwest Iowa school district has been dissolved after officials say it had been operating with a negative balance and sub-minimal educational standards.
The Des Moines Register reports (http://dmreg.co/1T0gdPY ) that the Iowa Board of Education voted to close the Farragut School District Wednesday.
State officials say the district had a five-year period of deficit spending that was approaching $1 million.
The state's School Budget Review Committee erased $900,000 in debt in January, almost 40 percent of the district's budget, to give the district a clean slate. Officials say the school district still ended this past school year $90,000 in the red.
School district leaders had told the board that it needed just one more year to finish implementing changes and consolidated measures. School Board President Jenny Varellas said closing the district should be a local board decision.
The Green Hills Area Education Agency will take over day-to-day operations so students can finish the school year. The department's deputy director, Jeff Berger, said he understands the trauma of having to close a school district, but there issues that need to be dealt with.
"That's not what this conversation is about. It's about whether or not we as a state, we're holding some sort of expectation about what we want schools to be able to do and not do," Berger said.
The Iowa Department of Education will redraw boundaries, and the students will have options on which nearby schools to attend. The department will also divide the district's assets.
This is the third time the state has closed a school district, which is seen as a last resort when programming or financial issues are too difficult to solve.
In January, 75 school districts were given "early warning" notices based on projections that district allocations could exceed what they are legally allowed to spend within two years if no changes were made to rectify financial issues.
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Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com
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