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West Point Independent School District to appeal state management recommendation

A small school district not far from Louisville is facing the possibility of a state takeover after an audit found several issues.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — WEST POINT, Ky. (WHAS11) -- Tuesday was the first day of school for students in the West Point Independent School District, but the tiny district has found itself in hot water with the state after an audit conducted earlier in the summer uncovered several troubling findings, leading Kentucky education commissioner Wayne Lewis to recommend state management of the district.

Among the findings was a lack of leadership and poor communication, the audit reading in part, "communication district wide is an issue and a major challenge" and that the finance officer had "witnessed shouting matches between the superintendent and board members."

The audit also found issues with the district's bookkeeping and that "the 'paper trail' of documents during testing was very much lacking." The audit said many bills that were paid did not have the proper authorization for purchase and that all 10 transactions that had been examined for proper documentation had issues.

"Anything that is not compliant or any area where we need to make improvements, we want to make those improvements because ultimately everyone here wants to do the very best thing for our students," Carla Breeding, the new principal of West Point Independent, said.

According to Breeding, many of the issues had come from a lack of leadership, something she said is changing under her watch. The district was without a principal for part of last year and does not have a superintendent at this time. The school board met in executive session during its Tuesday board meeting to look at candidates and is hoping to hire an interim superintendent as soon as possible.

"By not having a principal for part of the year last year led to some issues in communication, but those things are in place now and already some of the things mentioned in the audit have already been addressed and have been addressed," Breeding said.

"I can remember as a little girl that the state has tried to take over this school," Roszelle Moore said.

Moore is a former student, parent, grandparent and staff member at West Point Independent. Like many others in the community, she said she worries that state intervention could eventually lead to the school shutting its doors.

"The school is sort of the heart of West Point," she said. "I think everybody is just concerned that they don't want their children to have to be bussed, their little children to be bussed to another school."

"As far as our children are concerned, our focus is on making every single day that they are here as positive and as focused on learning as we possibly can," Breeding said.

The school board has until September 17 to file an appeal or accept the commissioner's recommendation. The board chair said he is working with the board attorney to fight the recommendation.

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►Contact reporter Dennis Ting at dting@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter (@DennisJTing) and Facebook. 

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