QUINCY (WGEM) – The Chief Operations Officer explained how the challenges came to be.
Back in March, the Hannibal School District put out a memo that explained their financial challenges. In it, they discussed what their challenges with revenue were and the expenditure pressures they faced.
“To ensure transparent communication, Hannibal Public Schools has been actively informing staff about the challenging news,” the memo read.
Last week, a fiscal investigation by the Missouri State Auditor brought their fiscal challenges to light. While the state investigation found many different factors to be involved in challenges, the district believes that there are external factors that have mainly affected their revenue.
One of the factors released by the district in March stated that a decrease in school enrollment was one important factor as well as an increase in student absences.
“That’s a trend that a lot of public schools are seeing, not just statewide, but nationwide,” explained Hannibal School District Chief Operations Officer Ted Sampson.
Sampson explained that after COVID, there was a fall in the number of students enrolled at Hannibal Public Schools, as well as an increase in the amount of absences.
“The state foundation formula pays us on average daily attendance so when we have less students, that’s less dollars coming in,” Sampson added.
Sampson added that since COVID, many of the online educational companies that popped up during COVID had begun contact with the state’s education department which led some parents to explore that option.
Sampson and the school district hope that they can see a rise in student population, but admitted that the challenge is serious.
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