County school official slaps MCC recall effort
 
By Jena Scheuneman
Mohave Daily News
 
FORT MOJAVE - "Bull" is what Mohave County School Superintendent Mike File called accusations made about two Mohave Community College board members who are involved in a recall attempt.

File, guest speaker at Thursday's Mohave Mesa Kiwanis meeting, spoke on several issues related to education in Mohave County.

File said he is concerned about the spending practices of one Mohave County school district.

"I can tell you in today's times, where budgets are running about 88 percent just on staff salaries, there isn't a whole lot of frivolous spending that can take place beyond that," he said.

"And I can say, of the 12 districts in this county, 11 of them are fighting tooth and nail, right down to the end to keep budgets in line and there is one that just sort of does their own thing. If the law - from the governor and the attorney general's office on down - if they want to start laying the hammer on Colorado City, at some point it's up to them. Because who it affects is all of us, the taxpayers."

Colorado City and its neighbor across the Arizona-Utah state line, is a polygamous community.

File called the budgeting and bookkeeping practices in the Colorado City school district "outrageous." He compared the student-staff ratio of the district to that of Chloride's district. In Chloride, there were 300 students and 24 staff members. In Colorado City, there are 259 children and 170 staff members on the payroll. The district continually runs over budget, writing checks for much more than there are funds to cover.

File said he has tried several times to get the authorities involved, to no avail.

"I wrote the AG (attorney general) and asked him if there is some way he can send somebody up there and see what is happening and they haven't done that, I asked to be able to remove the present governing board and I was told I have no authority to do that," he said.

The five members of the Colorado City school board have all served a long time: The member with the shortest time on the board has served for 26 years.

File said while he does not have the authority to remove members of a school board, he does hold the authority to appoint members to vacant spots on a school board.

In particular, File mentioned the allegations against Mohave Community College board members Sally Eggers-Hero and Victor Wakimoto, who are facing a recall attempt by the Citizens For Open and Honest Government. One recall supporter said the "MCC board manipulates board appointments and elections." File said he follows a diligent application and review process when he must appoint a board member, the college board does not select appointed members.

"I am the one who does that. One of my first duties was to appoint a board member (at MCC). That stuff about what Victor and the other guys are doing is absolute bull. I can't say it any clearer," File said.

The number of students who are being home schooled in Mohave County has dropped dramatically. In 2001, there were 1410 home schooled students, in 2004, the number dropped below 700 this year.

On-line academies contribute to the drop in home schoolers. Schools run through the Internet are state funded charter schools that File said are a good alternative to home schooling. Such schools are available for all grade levels, from kindergarten to grade 12. High school students earn a diploma at an on-line academy, while home schooled students must take the GED test and do not receive a diploma. The on-line schools are monitored, so that students must continue to work throughout the day, and cannot turn on their computer and go out skateboarding.

"There are some pros and cons to them, but they do work. We talk about tradition, we have certainly stepped out of tradition. But, those areas that can help children, I'm all for those," he said.
 
mohavedailynews.com
Originally published March 24, 2005
 
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