Cheney Public Schools relies on informal quotes
CHENEY – During a recent School Board meeting on May 22, Jamie Reed, in charge of the Finance and Enrollment Report, highlighted the district’s financial stability and successful completion of audits with no significant deficiencies found.
Despite national staffing challenges, the district has managed to maintain its workforce and avoid teacher layoffs.
Reed began by addressing the district’s fund balance, noting a peak balance of $11.24 million in April, which has since started to decline. Despite this, Reed assured the board that the Financial Statements Audit revealed no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses.
Of particular note was the Federal Programs Audit (encompassing education stabilization and special education funds for the district); a nonprofit organization must conduct an audit when it spends at least $750,000 of funds received from the federal government during a single fiscal year. However, Reed acknowledged one issue with internal controls regarding staffing.
“We contracted out, posted jobs, and we weren’t able to find someone,” Reed explained.
Superintendent Ben Ferney said the district spent over $200,000 on staffing agencies for three different positions staggered from September to November, including a remote school psychologist.
Reed admitted that the absence of a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) process led to limited scrutiny of costs. Instead, the district relied on informal quote services from multiple staffing agencies.
Despite national trends of teacher layoffs, Reed emphasized Cheney School District’s resilience.
“They’re planning to lay off teachers in multiple school districts, regional and nationwide, ever since we returned to in-person school,” Reed stated.
However, Cheney School District has avoided layoffs and even seen an increase in job applications.
Reed highlighted the district’s ability to maintain its workforce despite challenges. “We haven’t had to lay off teachers, or replace staff,” she affirmed.
The district’s kindergarten enrollment surpassed the number of students graduating, indicating continued growth.
Reed also touched on ongoing bargaining efforts, noting that the district dedicates every Thursday to negotiation discussions.
Clare is an Eastern Washington University graduate and a reporter at Free Press Publishing.
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