KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A whistleblower triggered an investigation into the Hickman Mills School District by the Missouri State Auditor's Office in March.
After discovering evidence of financial mismanagement, Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick announced on Thursday that it would conduct a full audit "that will look closely at most aspects of district operations."
The former superintendent, Yaw Obeng, was fired in July without cause.
Dr. Dennis Carpenter, who served as superintendent at Hickman Mills from 2013 to 2017, is back as interim superintendent until the district finds a permanent replacement.
He's been back for fourteen days. Since then, the state audit and the district's finances have been immediate priorities.
"I think sunlight is the best disinfectant," Dr. Carpenter said during a press conference. "Things going wrong is pretty apparent, and I think I’ve seen enough evidence in 14 days to see that in some cases we go too far away from our policies."
The superintendent said internal changes were made immediately, specifically gaining control of the district's finances.
"In 14 days, we’ve gone from 47 credit cards to about three," he said. "I probably am stepping out of the frying pan and into the fire, but I’ve done this work...I’ve done this work for a long time."
Despite the state conducting its own audit, the district has issued requests for proposals (RFP) for an internal audit after discovering it's in financial distress.
"We're in trouble," said Board President Bonnaye Mims.
The Missouri Capital Asset Advantage Treasury (MOCAAT), a financial management resource for Missouri school districts, presented the district's financial picture at the board meeting.
The presenter explained that the budget for the 2025-2026 school year was built on nearly $12 million that the district did not have.
Without correction, the district's fund balance next year will go from $11.8 million to a negative $775,551.
A fund balance for a school district is based on a percentage of its annual expenditures. According to the superintendent, financial distress occurs when it is below 3%.
The district faces a negative 0.7% fund balance without a revised budget.
"Here's the deal," said Board Member Byron Townsend. "The district is on fire."
MOCAAT determined that the budget discrepancies resulted from increased spending, as the district's finances appeared inflated from stimulus funding that it's no longer receiving.
The board unanimously passed a revised budget. All board members acknowledged that immediate work needs to begin to save the district from going under.
"We fall down and we get up," President Mims said.
The district will begin early on the budget for the 2026-2027 school year and include a series of community engagement events, such as town halls, to provide community feedback.
"Folks, we don't have a choice...there's no choice in fixing this budget. Wouldn't it be a sad day in a place called Hickman Mills if we hit all the academic targets we've been trying to hit for years and years and years and then we don't hit this goal we've been talking about because of this?" Dr. Carpenter said.
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