By Betsy Finklea
Latta Superintendent John Kirby said at the Latta District’s next regular board meeting on August 10th, there will be discussion on what the next steps are for the Latta District now that the Dillon County Board of Education has ruled to go with the assessed valuation funding formula.
He said Latta’s budget for 2010-2011 will have to be revised based on the county’s ruling.
Kirby said he believes that some community members will be in attendance wondering what the district will do now.
He said the board will discuss the next steps. He said they will decide if they feel the determination made by the county board is final and they used the appropriate authority. He said if the board feels that the determination is in dispute the board will make a determination of where they go next. He said they will take in all of this information and see where they need to go from here.
Kirby said many community members are still concerned and want the board to pursue this with all due diligence. He said the board will look at that and the reality of the situation when deciding which direction to take.
Kirby said their focus now is already switching to getting ready for school for the next year and making plans for a successful year.
He said their discussions will take place in an open session.
Kirby said as he sees it there has been no indication from the board at this point that they need to look at this from a litigation standpoint.
He said they will be focused on making sure the decision was done appropriately and that certainly the board is cognizant of the fact that if it were appropriately done that there is no need to waste the taxpayers money with litigation and they will move on. He said they will also be double checking the numbers and the assessments.
Kirby said he will be meeting with the other two superintendents and the county board committee to discuss the shared program costs on things such as the ATEC Center, workmen’s comp, etc. He said based on the new formula these costs should go down for his district.
Kirby said they will keep the public informed of their findings.