Students and staff from Okolona Elementary School and Okolona High School sat in the bleachers of Faulkner-Bowens field on Nov. 5 sporting maroon t-shirts featuring the words, “Proud to be a Chieftan.”
Jackson-based singer JWonn entertained the group while students danced and teachers swayed in their seats. The schools provided a mechanical bull, gaming truck and DJ, along with a meal that included fried fish, chicken wings and hot dogs to help celebrate after the school earned an A rating on the Mississippi Department of Education Accountability Rating scale for the 2024-25 school year. It is the first-ever A-rating in Okolona Elementary School’s history and the second in two years for Okolona High School.
“Our little Chieftains rose to the challenge to ‘BEE’ the CHANGE and underwent a remarkable transformation into an A-rated school. We are overflowing with pride for their accomplishments,’ a Nov. 5 Okolona Elementary School Facebook post said.
But a little more than a week later, the Mississippi Department of Education Board of Trustees voted to officially abolish the Okolona Separate School District, its existing school board and its existing superintendent. The board placed it into a District of Transformation, the term the Legislature adopted in 2017 to refer to what was previously called a conservatorship. The state department of education may place a public school under its District of Transformation process if it repeatedly fails to meet state academic standards or shows a severe failure of financial standards. MDE then removes all local control of the district, appointing a superintendent who also sets policy for the district. That administrator, who reports directly to the state department of education, is tasked with completing a comprehensive analysis of the district’s status, focusing on the areas that need the most improvement and reporting monthly to the state board of education.
“This was a difficult but necessary decision to protect the educational interests of students in Okolona,” State Superintendent of Education Lance Evans said in a Nov.14 press release. “The financial challenges facing this district have reached a point where state intervention is required to ensure students continue to receive the education they deserve.”
In a special-called teleconference meeting on Nov. 14, the board met to determine if the school district was “impaired by a lack of serious financial resources.” MDE staff reported ongoing insolvency, failure to make payroll, a pattern of fiscal mismanagement and a failure to maintain adequate internal controls.
State lawmakers passed a law in 2024 that allows the state board of education to place a school district into a District of Transformation for financial reasons without the governor declaring a state of emergency. Districts placed in District of Transformation status for financial reasons are required to reimburse the state for all costs incurred, including the repayment of any loan money.
MDE Associate Superintendent Jo Ann Malone told the board that on Oct. 30, Okolona Separate School District’s business manager reported via email that the district would not be able to pay its November payroll of approximately $518,000 and requested assistance from MDE’s Emergency Assistance Fund.
Malone told the board that MDE staff met with Okolona School District Superintendent Paul Moton and district staff to discuss the request and the school district’s financial status. During that meeting, MDE also requested financial statements and the district’s last audit report. Okolona sent limited documentation that MDE officials said showed a deficit of nearly $112,000.
“The district’s financial documentation, however, is (incomplete and) inconsistent. Therefore, the MDE cannot verify all outstanding and recurring expenditures,” MDE Chief Operating Officer Kym Wiggins told the board during the Nov. 14 meeting.
She said that the verified expenditures, “particularly payroll,” “already exceed the district’s monthly revenue, indicating ongoing insolvency.”
Missing Documents, Incomplete Records and Discrepancies
Kym Wiggins pointed to several discrepancies in the documentation provided by the Okolona School District. MDE found that the cash flow report showed the district received more than $390,000 in local revenue funds. Yet, a report of all revenue sources provided by the district showed that they only received $277,000. The state also found that, according to the check register, $195,000 more had been paid than had been approved under the claims docket for accounts payable.
“There is still a pretty significant discrepancy in what local revenue sources or funds are available to the district for use to cover any outstanding liability general ledger and part of accounts, purchase order reports,” Wiggins said. “… We also have reason to believe, just based on our cursory review of documents, that many of the fund codes have been applied incorrectly, which has the potential, again, to increase the amount of financial liability, but also to skew the revenue numbers that we would receive from the district.”
Wiggins also told the board that the district has not regularly completed annual audits required by law.
“The district has failed to complete an independent annual audit since FY ‘21, leaving multiple years unaudited in violation of process standard 4.0 Annual Financial Audit and the Mississippi Public School Accountability Standards.”
She noted that the district’s “deteriorated condition has eliminated access to other short-term borrowing options.”
‘Leadership Has Failed Miserably’
Mississippi Board of Education member Mary Werner asked how the district was able to go so long without an audit.
“If I can speak up and Paula, please feel at liberty to correct this,” MDE Superintendent Lance Evans said, addressing MDE Chief Accountability Officer Paula Vanderford,. “Districts were granted, at the request of the state auditor, an additional two years, which equated to four years before it was considered an accreditation violation on audits, and that has not been back down, if you will, to the original two-year standard.”
Werner lauded the district’s academic achievement despite its financial problems.
“The educator part of the district has done quite well,” Werner said. “But the leadership has failed miserably.”
The district earned an overall B-rating for school year 2024-25. The district’s 10.3% chronic absenteeism rate is the state’s best for the 2024-25 school year. Mississippi’s average rate was 27.6%. MDE documentation presented to the board showed that the district had a total of 517 students enrolled and has seen a steady decline over the past seven years.
MDE Chief Operating Officer Kym Wiggins told board members that her office could also not confirm whether the district was managing federal programs, IDEA, or Child Nutrition Services in accordance with law and that the failure to maintain adequate internal controls posed a serious risk that workers would go unpaid.
“If the State Board of Education does not act immediately, staff may not receive November payroll, resulting in immediate work stoppage and disruption to school student services,” Wiggins said. “The district also cannot ensure compliance with federal program requirements, potentially placing federal funds at risk. Vendors, providing transportation, food services, special education services and safety-related operations may discontinue service due to non-payment.”
This is not the first time the Okolona School District has had financial issues. MDE took control of the Okolona School District on Feb. 24, 2010. At that time, MDE provided the district a loan of $550,000 from the Emergency Assistance Fund. That district repaid that loan. The state board returned the district to local control in 2012.
The board also voted unanimously at the Nov. 14 meeting to approve MDE Chief of School and District Transformation John Ferrell to serve as the Interim Superintendent until a permanent interim superintendent can be appointed. The board also voted unanimously to approve up to $3 million from the School District Emergency Assistance Fund.
Okolona School District Superintendent Paul Moton did not respond to requests for an interview.