State raises ‘financial concerns’ about Dublin City Schools

State officials have asked the Dublin City Schools to address “financial concerns” that include past-due State Health Benefit Plan payments, overdue audits and other “operational deficiencies,” according to a letter from Georgia School Superintendent Richard Woods sent to system officials on Monday.

The school district owes $4.8 million in employer contributions to the state health plan after failing to pay in for the entirety of fiscal year 2025. Also, the schools deducted employee contributions from workers’ paychecks but withheld payment for months. Woods’ letter says the district had not paid toward employee contributions since March, until it was contacted by state officials Aug. 15 and wired $780,512 to the state Department of Community Health.

School board chairman Kenny Walters said Tuesday that board members were unaware the state health plan payments were not being made.

“We were made aware of it last week,” Walters said. “We’ve been in contact with the state and legal counsel, and there should be a statement coming out sometime today. We were made aware of it just last week, the state is aware of it, and we’re working diligently to resolve the issue.” 

The school system issued a statement later Tuesday afternoon, saying “information had been withheld” from both the board and Superintendent Fred Williams.

“We are grateful for the Georgia Department of Education’s continued support of our district – specifically for providing tools, resources and opportunities that help us ensure the efficient and effective use of our environments and resources. This support has been a key factor in our ability to meet the needs of our students despite the challenges of a changing economic climate and the rising costs of education,” school officials said in the statement.

“Earlier this year, we developed a corrective action plan with the state, and that process remains in place. However, it recently came to our attention that information had been withheld from both the superintendent and the Board of Education by our financial department. This situation has been – and continues to be – addressed internally. We have an ongoing financial improvement plan with the state that is actively being implemented. As we have consistently done, we are working with the state financial review process and will continue to fulfill our obligations with the same commitment and accountability.”

The school board called a special meeting for 6 p.m. Thursday night.

The state also says the school system also must submit a “contingency plan” for any lost revenue due to property tax appeals. The city of Dublin, which collects taxes for the school board, already has refunded entitled property owners both city and city school taxes, but has yet to be reimbursed by the schools. The city has sent the schools an invoice for about $197,000.

Woods’ letter, which was emailed to Williams and school finance director Chad McDaniel, with Walters copied, lays out a timeline for the state’s involvement. 

Georgia Department of Education Chief Financial Officer Rusk Roam was notified Aug. 14 by the Department of Community Health that the Dublin City Schools had not paid employer contributions to the State Health Benefit Plan for FY25 and had not paid employee contributions since March. 

“Further review also showed operational deficiencies that have yet to be reported, as the district has not yet completed audit reports for FY22, FY23 or FY24,” the letter details.

  The next day, Aug. 15, a meeting was held between Dublin City Schools officials and state Department of  Education senior leadership. “During this call and through follow-up correspondence, a timeline was mutually developed and agreed upon to show progress on the outstanding financial items,” Woods says in the letter.

The letter also outlines “progress made since the Aug.15 meeting,” noting the schools had:

• Wired funds in the amount of $780,512 to the Department of Community Health to pay all outstanding employee liabilities for State Health Benefit Plan.

• Provided documentation that the FY22 Audit Exit Conference was completed on Aug. 20, 2025.

• Submitted a deficit reduction plan to the Georgia Department of Education on Aug. 22, 2025.

• Submitted a cashflow statement, including proposed State Health Benefit Plan payments for prior and current liabilities, on Aug. 22, 2025.

The state is requiring a “financial improvement plan” from the schools, outlined in the letter. As part of the plan, school officials must:

• Resubmit a deficit reduction plan to include a balanced budget by FY27, along with a contingency plan for any lost revenues due to property tax appeals, to the state Department of Education by Aug. 29.

• Submit proof of State Health Benefit Plan approval of repayment plan, along with verification of continued benefits, to state Department of Education by Aug. 29.

• Provide documentation to the Department of Education that all FY23 audit pending documents have been submitted to accountants Mauldin & Jenkins by Sept. 22, 2025.

• Continue to meet the Department of Education Financial Review team as requested until all concerns are resolved.