| School board fights for files | |
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By Patrice St. Germain patrices@thespectrum.com | |
COLORADO CITY - Keeping the three schools that make up Colorado City Unified School District No. 14 operating has been difficult since district records and computers were seized by the Arizona Attorney General's office in May. School district assistant business manager, Oliver Barlow, said not only is the district missing critical files, but that staff had to work overtime to get the system back together. "We had to create new files and our computers were returned with cloned hard drives," Barlow told school board members at a meeting Friday night. As part of an investigation that began two months ago into alleged mismanagement of funds by the district, the Arizona Attorney General's office seized records and computer files relating to district spending. Barlow told the board that some of what was seized was beyond the scope of the search warrant and that district officials have many issues with some of the affidavits the Attorney General's office filed. With school scheduled to begin Aug. 22, the district is looking to retrieve records needed before the semester starts. School district superintendent Alvin Barlow said during the search, 240 boxes of files were taken and, so far, only 40 have been returned. Because the district is having difficulty functioning and preparing for the new school year, Alvin Barlow said the district's insurance company recently had a telephonic conference with the parties involved, including a judge. Barlow said the judge ordered the insurance company and the Attorney General's office to get together with a priority list of items the district needs to operate. "We are the custodians of these public records -not the Attorney General," Oliver Barlow said. "We are accountable to the public and the records should be here so they can be managed properly." In other business, Alvin Barlow spoke of the resignation of board member Lee Bistline. Bistline resigned from the board July 15 for health reasons after serving on the board since 1960. Alvin Barlow said Bistline was the longest-standing board member in the state of Arizona. "He (Bistline) was an outspoken advocate for education - not only locally, but for the state," Barlow said. "He was well-known and well-respected." Barlow suggested to board members that recommendations for a new board member should be compiled and given to Mohave County School Superintendent Mike File, who will appoint a replacement until the next election. The meeting went quickly despite a large agenda, lasting just under two hours. Other than one resident who showed up for the meeting - only staying a while - the only people in attendance were school board members and district staff. The next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 16 at 6:30 p.m. | |
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TheSpectrum.com Originally published July 30, 2005 | |
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