Financial ‘irregularity’ under investigation in Clinton, Iowa School District

Clinton Community School District officials say they are cooperating with a law enforcement investigation of a “serious financial irregularity” involving the school district.

School board members and Superintendent Richard Basden held a news conference Monday at the Clinton County Attorney’s Office about the investigation.
School board president Jim McGraw said the irregularity was uncovered within the past week as part of a focused internal review conducted by school district staff. He said the situation is being investigated by the Clinton Police Department, Clinton County Attorney’s Office and federal authorities.
School district representatives declined to comment further on the investigation or the amount of money involved. Police Chief Brian Guy and Clinton County Attorney Mike Wolf said the district is cooperating fully with the investigation, but also declined to comment further.
The district is in the middle of a change in the position of district business manager. Current business manager Gayle Isaac resigned earlier this month after accepting a similar job in Newton, Iowa.
Jan Culbertson, business director of the Central Community School District in DeWitt, was hired last week as Isaac’s replacement.
She said Monday that Clinton school officials told her during her interview process that there might be a potential problem.
“All I know is that they’re working on it,” she said.
Culbertson said the problem had nothing to do with Isaac, who is leaving in March, or his decision to take another job. Isaac could not be reached for comment Monday.
Last week, the district announced a proposal to cut about $1.9 million from its budget for 2010-11 due to reductions in state funding. The district’s current budget calls for $51.8 million in expenditures.
Among the cuts on the list is the elimination of an assistant budget manager at an annual salary of $60,000.
The proposal includes cuts in staff, moving the district’s administrative offices and combining Washington and Lyons middle schools into the Washington building, which would allow the district to move the Lincoln Alternative School into the Lyons building and sell the Lincoln building.
At Monday night’s school board meeting, the board heard comments from about 25 people about the budget reduction plan and turned down the idea of combining the middle schools.
Officials stressed several times during the meeting that the financial irregularities under investigation will not impact the budget this year or the discussions for next budget year.