Multiple citizens spoke out at Monday’s Kingfisher Board of Education meeting, the first for Interim Superintendent Andy Evans, regarding a myriad of concerns ranging from school spending to the potential of contesting the excise board’s amended budget.

The Times & Free Press asked Evans to address some of those concerns, including why the district is seeking a larger budget in the face of such pushback, which some have called careless.

Evans answered in three parts and we’ll provide those full answers here: 1. “Our students deserve the proper education and to do that we have to include all of the millages voted in when the millages became permanent. We have visited with the State Department of Education and they aren’t sure what happens when a millage decrease like this occurs. We know there is a minimum millage required to receive state aid; we don’t know if that will negatively affect us this fiscal year or next year. We don’t know for sure, but we do know that it will cost us some or part of state aid and possibly flex benefits at some time in the future. The General Fund (Operating Fund) is where these mills flow to; that is the only fund we can budget out of to pay teachers and support staff, buy instructional materials and other items to do with education. Out of the $14,232,000 budgeted currently, state aid is $1,732,000 of that. Ad valorem on a normal year in the operating fund is $4,900,000. For the district to operate correctly the revenue from ad valorem is essential.”

2. “Our community and patrons are of concern to us and it is difficult to see our community saddled with millages that arose from a lawsuit. We understand the transparency issue, the issue of believing the district was profligate in its spending, and wanting the district held accountable. That’s rational and understandable. We are working extremely hard to right the ship and be as transparent and open as we possibly can be. We are purposefully limiting the budget. We don’t want to see anyone struggle due to millage increases. Saying we have empathy is not enough. We can only make the necessary changes to ensure that this whole set of circumstances doesn’t happen again.”

3. “The term ‘careless’ is not the term I would utilize, but I understand the sentiment behind the use of the term. As stated before, we have to seek a remedy to the millage issue to insure that we maintain what the district is required to receive for state aid and to maintain educational services for our students. I received a very nice note from a gentleman today that told me this is a start, but adhering to transparency and budget discipline is more than a onetime thing. He is correct - he is exactly correct. We stand to lose more than the millages if the Estimate of Needs isn’t rectified, but we also have to resolve to make our budgets and our spending publicly consumable for our patrons and citizens.”