$3M Corbett schools deficit discovered after relying on outside auditor

CORBETT Ore. (KPTV) – The Corbett School District has announced layoffs after they found an accounting error the district said was made by an outside contractor.

Corbett is a small school district along the Columbia River Gorge with about 1,100 students and 90 teachers before the cuts.

The superintendent, Derek Fialkiewicz, said they will cut eight full-time positions and make one part-time.

“We’re cutting four classified staff, educational assistants and secretaries, cutting one and a half teachers and three administrators,” Fialkiewicz said.

This budget shortfall has been going on for years and was not noticed until the district hired its own CFO and stopped relying on an outside contractor for accounting.

According to Fialkiewicz, the budget shortfall will leave the district $3 million in debt by the end of the year.

“Where we are now is we’re overstaffed, we’re going to have to cut costs and cut wages so we can move forward with a stable financial future,” Fialkiewicz said.

The Corbett School District’s budget deficit has been going on for years and was not noticed until the district stopped relying on an outside auditor.

Fialkiewicz would not name the outside contractor because they have other contracts with that agency and do not want to jeopardize their relationship. He also does not want to comment on possible legal action against the said agency.

The cuts are made based on seniority – last in first out, but he added that he wants those cuts to affect students as little as possible. So most of the layoffs are in the administration rather than the classroom.

“None of the arts are lost, none of the programs are cut, it’s really just a reshaping of how we did things to make it more efficient so that the impact on students is minimal,” Fialkiewicz said.

SEE ALSO:

FOX 12 Investigates takes an in-depth look at a program designed to keep foster children from moving from home to home or ending up in foster care.

The district is also considering six furlough days during which the entire district will be closed and no one will be paid. But it is still being negotiated with the teachers’ union.

These dismissals and the accounting errors were announced by letter in September and the whole process has upset many parents and teachers. Originally, the layoffs were to include three teachers, but that number has been cut in half following community backlash.

“I expect and understand that our community is not happy, but what I’ve seen which is nice there is a large part of the community coming together and asking what we can do to help,” Fialkiewicz said.

Alternatives to help the district is to donate to sports teams that now have to hold fundraisers for their activities. And Fialkiewicz is also asking for more volunteers to help out around the school.

The Corbett Education Foundation has also expressed its frustration with the district online and encouraged community members to attend Wednesday’s school board meeting at

That meeting has been moved to the new Corbett Middle School so they can accommodate more people and will be streamed online.