School district releases names of advisory committee

PALMER -- The Mat-Su Borough School District has released the names of those serving on the district's financial advisory committee, a group of local business and financial experts who will meet three times in November to review the district's financial records. Kim Floyd, school district spokesperson, said the committee was established to help the school district restore credibility to its budget process. She said the names of committee members were initially withheld because the district feared releasing them would taint the process.

"We thought the committee could work best if they were free of distractions [such as phone calls from the public to either question or comment on the process]," Floyd said.

But she said withholding the names led those who already questioned the credibility of the numbers to question the credibility of the review process as well.

"[We're releasing the names now] because it is a public process and we are not trying to hide anything," she said.

The school district contacted each of the six committee members and asked if their names could be released. Floyd said it would only accept the services of those who consented. All six members have remained on the committee and are participating in the process.

The financial advisory committee members are as follows: Dan Kennedy, certified public accountant, Kennedy & Company LLC; Craig Thorn, vice president and Mat-Su regional supervisor, First National Bank of Alaska; Annette Andres, community bank president, Wells Fargo, Wasilla; Desi Mayo, chief financial officer, Matanuska Telephone Association; Don Zoerb, chief financial officer, Matanuska Electric Association; Al Strawn, general manager, Mat-Valley Federal Credit Union.

Floyd said no school district employee will sit on the committee. A representative from the Mat-Su Borough's auditing firm, Mikunda, Cottrell & Co., however, as well as the school district's finance director, Jack Sherman and Nancy Munoz, the school district's budget supervisor, will be on hand at all committee meetings to answer questions and take requests for additional information.

According to Floyd, the school district provided committee members with several items for review, prior to the committee's first meeting. These items included: a Power-Point presentation of fiscal year 2005 budget parameters; budgeted and actual operating fund revenues and expenditures for FY04; FY05 projected enrollment; a draft of the FY03 financial audit; and an FY04 financial plan. In addition to these items, Floyd said two committee members requested management letters from FY01 and FY02. These are letters that accompany the auditor's report and give his or her opinion on how the funds were managed. Floyd said a management letter from FY03 hasn't been completed yet because that audit is still in draft form and subject to change.

"As they continue to request things, we will certainly get it to them," she said.

The first of three scheduled committee meetings was held Wednesday in the school district's administration building. The remaining two are scheduled for Nov. 12 and Nov. 20. Floyd said additional meetings will be scheduled if necessary.

"We hope to accomplish a hard look at the district's resources and expected expenditures and have a solid bottom line. I'm confident this committee can handle the job. We're fortunate to have that level of expertise in our community," she said.