Stephens BOE Keeps Looking at Cannery

The Stephens County Board of Education is still working through what to do about the cannery and its financial situation.

School board members discussed it on Thursday at their work session.

Stephens County School Superintendent Bryan Dorsey says further investigations showed both additional revenues and expenditures in the cannery, increasing the financial deficit over the last five years.

Those figures show a deficit of about $217,000 over the last five years.

Dorsey said losses are continuing this fiscal year.

He said the school system can keep the cannery going, but suggests reduced operational hours.

“We have a position that we could move the full-time person into, so we would not be talking about loss of job,” said Dorsey.

He talked about only opening it one day a week in the off-season, then increasing to two or more days depending on the time of the year.

Dorsey said that would make it similar to other counties and allow them to monitor the financial situation going forward.

However, school board member Jim Ledford said he does not support cutting it back that much.

“I do not think we can keep it open just one day a week or two days,” said Ledford. “Because of curing meat, it has to cure three days. I do not think we can close it anymore, at least keep it open three days a week.”

Dorsey said cutting it back to three days a week would not generate savings because they would not be able to move the full-time person into another job, which is where the majority of the savings would come from.

Board of Education Chair Dr. Elizabeth Pinkerton said she supports the cannery, but cannot support the budget numbers that are coming back.

“I love having the cannery in our county, but as a school board, we cannot keep having this expense,” said Dr. Pinkerton.

School board member Tony Crunkleton, meanwhile, said he wants to wait and see more numbers and perhaps make a decision for next fiscal year, not this one.

“I do not trust these numbers,” said Crunkleton. “You are going back five years. Everybody is aware of the financial problems we had with our accounting, our bookkeeping, and oversight. This is my personal opinion, but I am not convinced that by the time the money went from the customer to the cannery to the Central Office, (and) by the time it got to the bank, I am not sure some of the cannery money was not diverted to other places.”

Dorsey said the school system needs to make these difficult decisions now because this year’s budget is very tight and next year’s will be as well.

He said that the school system will probably need to find $750,000 to $1 million in the next fiscal year.

“To get to that three quarter million, I feel like I can find a very painful $500,000,” said Dorsey. “I do not have a clue where the other $250,000 to $500,000 is coming from.”

Cannery users in attendance said the board should look at marketing the cannery and getting more people to use it, while also looking at raising prices.

Dorsey said they are looking at that, but feels raising prices alone would not generate the needed revenue to make up the average loss taking place at the cannery.

Board members said they will continue to gather information and continue discussions at their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday.