District 55 School Board member Robby Bell reported on the Legislative Advocacy Conference & Annual Business Meeting which he attended as a voting member in December. He reported voting on 45 issues and provided documentation for his fellow board member’s review. Robby Bell also reported that the conference, held on Hilton Head, had many heated exchanges and he came away with a shared concern of the nation’s falling scores in science and math skills.
Bell also noted that Representative Mike Anthony of District forty-two of Laurens & Union Counties was in attendance at the conference and announced he is running for the office of State Secretary of Education.
Bell also reported that many new skilled labor jobs will be required by the year 2018 in the state and that schools were advised to prepare their students for those openings.
School Superintendent Dr. Billy Strickland told the board that District 55 has already been on track to prepare students for work and thanked companies like Z F Transmissions and Michelin for their aid in this effort.
In his legislative update, Strickland pointed to Governor Nikki Haley’s state of the State Address, in which she spoke of her commitment to education, with an emphasis on technology. He said “Hopefully this push will aid us to increase funds to upgrade our technology” and added “We need to make sure that everyone involved in the political that we keep up what is going on in Columbia, it is important for us to be involved.”
CFO Rodney Smith presented the results of last fiscal year’s financial audit, prepared by McKinley Cooper and Company of Greenville.
The audit showed that there were no transactions for which there was a lack of authoritative guidance or consensus, and that all transactions were recognized in the financial statements in the proper period.
The balance of the General Fund at the end of the fiscal year was $6,067,082 which was an increase from the year before of $222,746.
Also Smith noted he received notice Thursday that the District’s bond rating was raised back in August. Standard and Poor’s raised District 55 to an A from an A- based on the district’s improved financial performance that led to strong general fund reserves. Meanwhile, the district’s long-term rating on installment purchase revenue bonds was raised from a BBB+ to an A-.
The AA enhanced program rating on the district’s general obligation bonds was affirmed as AA. Credit Analyst Timothy Barrett of Standard and Poor’s said “The upgrade reflects our opinion on the district’s considerable improved financial performance.”