In what’s generally a routine matter, the Kingfisher County Excise Board opted to table the budget approval for Kingfisher Public Schools.

The move was made at the recommendation of John Storm of Storm & Hauser, a longtime CPA who serves as an advisor to the excise board along with his son, Nick Storm.

“That will give every taxpayer a chance to protest the budget and the best way of probably doing that would be write a letter to the county clerk and tell her what your protest is,” Storm said at the excise board’s meeting, which was attended by about 30 citizens.

Kingfisher Board of Education members voted last Friday to submit an estimate of needs of $16.2 million for the 2024-25 school year.

The estimate of needs then goes to the county excise board for approval.

The board vote was 3-1 with Charles Walker, Terry Payne and Carly Franks voting in favor and Brad Wittrock voting against it.

Board member Dana Golbek did not attend the meeting.

Wittrock’s nay vote stemmed from his desire to have the board passing an estimate of needs with a smaller general fund total of about $14.5 million.

That would allow the district to satisfy that fiscal year’s installment that’s part of a $5 million settlement being paid to Mason Mecklenburg.

The settlement stems from a civil lawsuit filed by Mecklenburg against the school district and multiple coaches in July 2021.

The board voted 4-1 (Wittrock was the nay vote) last December to accept the terms of the settlement which were for the school to pay $1.25 million within 30 days and then $1.25 million a year for three years from the sinking fund.

The sinking fund is made up of ad valorem taxes, meaning that remaining $3.75 million plus interest would be paid by landowners in the school district.

The district has tried multiple options to avoid passing the judgment on to taxpayers since December, but has hit legal roadblocks.

However, Storm said the excise board gave the district a viable option months ago.

“I will tell you this board has been proactive,” Storm said at the meeting. “We’ve been talking about this for a year. The excise board actually went to the school board and told them, ‘we have a solution for your problem; if you really want to pay this, we’ve got a solution.’” The solution is to reduce the amount requested for the general fund by the amount owed for the fiscal year for the settlement installment plus interest (about $1.75 million).

Wittrock pushed for that solution at previous meetings, stating his own independent counsel had advised it was a legal solution.

However, KPS Board President Charles Walker said he was advised by counsel at Rosenstein Fist & Ringold (RFR), the school district’s legal counsel, to pass the budget as submitted by the school’s CPA firm.

The district also sought an opinion from Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office and received an opinion back from Thomas R. Schneider, who is deputy general counsel.

The question proposed to the AG’s office through State Senator Darcy Jech was: “May a county excise board ask a public school to set aside funds from its estimate of needs to dedicate those same funds to the district’s sinking fund for the purpose of paying down a money settlement reached in lieu of litigation?”

While Schneider’s “advisory only” response was that it wasn’t a legal option for the district, Storm told the excise board that the letters were flawed.

“Each time they asked the wrong question,” Storm said Wednesday. “I mean, it is illegal to transfer money. We were not asking them to transfer money.”

Instead, said Storm, the excise board, again, was asking the school board to reduce the amount it requested in the general fund.

Instead of having the excise board vote on the school’s budget at that meeting, he said the proper protocols needed to be followed.

Since the estimate of needs wasn’t passed until last Friday, Sept. 13, its publication in the Times & Free Press, as required by law, didn’t take place until the Sept. 18 edition.

Once it’s published, citizens have a period to protest that budget, which Storm suggest those in attendance do.

Storm also suggested some questions.

“I want to know what was spent after that date when they knew they had a lawsuit,” Storm said, noting the lawsuit was filed July 27, 2021.

“I want to know what was spent – whether you say irresponsibly or whatever you call it – I want to know how much money they’ve spent and what projects they spent it for after that date.

“I have a hard time advising the excise board to pass or revise a budget unless I know facts about why they are…I wouldn’t want to advise somebody to penalize the school unless they can give a reason.”

Kingfisher County Clerk Jeannie Boevers provided her email address to which citizens could submit their questions.

Boevers told the Times & Free Press that she submitted a list of questions to the school board on Friday.

The excise board wants the questions answered prior to meeting again at 9 a.m. this Wednesday.

Brandi Willimon was among those in attendance and said she was leery of trusting the school board’s response.

“It’s just semantics. It’s word salad, always,” she said. “I don’t feel like anybody really trusts the answers.”

Storm said it’s a necessary and important step to get answers from the school board. If not?

“Then all you’re getting is hearsay,” he said. “I would like, in writing, what was actually done.”

Moving forward, the excise board has the option to pass the KPS budget as requested ($16.2 million), which would require the district’s landowners to see a bump in their property taxes for the year to pay the settlement installment.

The excise board could also pass a budget for KPS for as little as $14.2 million (which is equivalent to 20.59 mills, the minimum a school can receive).

“We can reduce their general fund budget to offset the amount the sinking fund is going to go up,” said Michelle Miller of Cashion, who chairs the excise board.

She is joined on the board by Jim Wittrock of Okarche and Jimmy Berkenbile of Hennessey.

Storm said the feeling of the excise board up until about a month ago was to pass a number somewhere in between those two, or, as he said, “keep it neutral.”

That feeling, Storm said, has changed.

“I would tell you the excise board is probably closer to passing a minimum budget and sending it on to the state auditor,” he said. “And say, ‘let the state auditor come in and take a look at everything that’s going on.’” Berkenbile said he received calls from concerned citizens well into the night prior to the excise board meeting.

“I’m disappointed that we’re not going on and just doing the vote and putting the responsibility where it needs to be, back on their table. Don’t send us a budget until you resolve how you’re going to pay the debt,” Berkenbile said at the meeting.

“But I am definitely on the taxpayers’ side. Times are tough enough with the economy we have out there. I heard from single mothers, I heard from fathers, I heard from senior adults last night. I get it. I think we all get it.

“I was glad whenever John came up with a solution, an option. But there is some accountability that needs to happen at that school.”