The Dallas Independent School District has made progress in recovering from a series of financial mismanagement problems that left it with a yawning deficit last year, but the north Texas district isn’t out of the woods yet, The Dallas Morning News reports.
A new audit shows the district ended the 2008-09 school year with a $22 million deficit, an improvement over the $74 million deficit the school district faced early last school year. The gap, caused by bad spending practices, forced the district to lay off hundreds of teachers in mid-fall and provoked anger among community members.
In the ensuing controversy, top district executives resigned or were dismissed, and local advocacy groups were calling for superintendent Michael Hinojosa to be fired.
To help get back on track, the district hired Larry Throm, who is well-respected for his work in managing the finances of the Austin, Texas school district, as the chief financial officer. Throm told The News the district is no longer overspending and will use short-term borrowing against projected tax revenues to help regain stability.