TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The Florida Department of Education formally released the Jefferson County School District from state financial oversight.
According to a memorandum by Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran sent to the State Board of Education on Wednesday, Jefferson County School submitted on Oct. 1, 2021 a fund balance of $1,213,477 and financial condition ratio of 15.24 percent.
That was good enough for the state department of education to release the school district from state financial oversight by ending the financial emergency status.
Part of the agreement to release the district from oversight, Jefferson County Schools must not fall back within the range of financial emergency.
The district must also notify the state board of education if it does fall below five percent of the general fund revenue during the remainder of the 2021-22 fiscal year through the 2022-23 fiscal year.
The school district is required to submit a financial summary report each month to the state beginning on Feb. 28.
According to the Florida Department of Education, a school district enters financial emergency, or state oversight by the governor, if it has a lack of funds to operate or restricted, committed, or non-spendable funds fall below two percent of the projected revenues for the fiscal year and the commissioner declares a financial emergency based on the probability the district will not be able to meet its obligations.
Jefferson County Schools had its financial issues highlighted by the state in 2016.
That led Somerset Academy, Inc., a charter school entity, to operate the public schools in the county beginning with the 2017-18 academic year.
Somerset and Jefferson County’s five-year contract is scheduled to expire this year.
With Somerset leading the public schools in the county, the highest grade either the elementary, middle, or high school achieved during an academic year was a “C” grade.
According to FDOE documents, student achievement made modest improvements under Somerset control as the public schools in the county went from consecutive “D” grades in 2016 and 2017 to back-to-back “C” grades in 2018 and 2019.
