The financial stability of the Escambia County School System is among the best in the state, according to Chief Financial Officer Julie Madden.

Madden said during a time when many systems are operating in the red and are being forced to borrow money due to proration and budget cuts, Escambia County’s system is doing well.

“We are very fortunate,” school board chairman Mike Goolsby said.

During her report Thursday at the board meeting in Brewton, Madden included a spreadsheet provided to Superintendent Billy Hines by the State Department of Education including operating balances of school systems across the state. She reported that Escambia County is among the few that are in the black with 2.9 months of operating balance on hand. According to state standards, school systems must keep one month on hand at all times.

Madden also reported on the system’s latest fund balance of $8.1 million at the end of November.

“Keeping in mind that we have started to get in some of our ad valorem taxes, our November, December and January financial statements always look really nice,” she said. “And then, of course, we’ll start using those funds and we won’t get in as much revenue. The majority of those ad valorem taxes will come in the next month.”

She reported that one major change in the financial statement was that the system’s available cash balance increased and investments decreased because a $1 million CD that matured in November was cashed out and put in the system’s operating account.

“We’ll have to look at that periodically,” Madden said. “We’ll have to look at our fund balance, look at our cash balance and look at our bills and see how we’ll have to handle those investments.”

In other business, the board,

• Approved of the following board policies: Tab 900, #959-A as it relates to fees for copies of records and Tab 900, #934 as it relates to the student anti-harassment policy.

• Board member W.J. Grissett, who served as the board’s delegate at the Alabama Association of School Boards meeting recently, gave a recap of his trip. He also announced that the Escambia County School System was the recipient of the Presidential Award, which is given to school boards across the state that have at least 60 percent of its members attending three or more school board member academy conferences.

Grissett also announced that Goolsby had advanced to master level 1 and that he had advanced to level 3 in ASSB School Academy continued education. Former board member Cereal Daniel advanced to level 4 and former board member Richard Hawthorne advanced to level 3.

• Approved the following personnel issues:

Leave of Absence: Toshia Woods, office aide, Turtle Point Environmental Science Center, leave of absence effective Jan. 3, 2011 through April 30, 2011 and Gloria Wolfe, teacher, Rachel Patterson Elementary School, leave of absence effective Jan. 3, 2011 through May 27, 2011.

Resignation: Enga Jackson, seven-hour Lunchroom Worker, Rachel Patterson Elementary School, effective Dec. 10, 2010

Retirement: Robert Quarles, teacher, W.S. Neal High School, effective Feb. 1, 2011

Transfer: Tammy Weeks, counselor, Escambia County Middle School, to counselor, W.S. Neal High School, effective Jan 3, 2011 (replacing Shirley Stanovich)

Employment: Mandy Murphy, teacher, A.C. Moore Elementary School, effective Jan. 3, 2011 (replacing Ruth Harris); Darryl Otwell, P.E./driver’s education teacher, Escambia County High School, effective Dec. 6, 2010 (replacing William Casaday); Jennifer Strength, six-hour lunchroom worker, Escambia County Middle School, effective Jan. 3, 2011 (replacing Tracy Baker); Angelina Walker, six-hour lunchroom worker, Rachel Patterson Elementary School, effective Jan. 3, 2011 (replacing Enga Jackson); Chelsea Lowell, seven-hour custodian, W.S. Neal Elementary School, effective Jan. 3, 2011 (replacing Audrey Brown); School Improvement After-School Tutoring Personnel, Escambia County High School, extended-day math teachers, Henry Calhoun, Frank Jurjevich, Frank Boykin, Eddie Reed and Robert Lambert; SES coordinator, student tutor personnel, Escambia County High School, Christopher Cole, Mary Powell, Makeria Williams, LaDerrick Crenshaw and Tiffany Madison; Children’s First After-School Program personnel, Flomaton Elementary School, substitute teacher, June Kent and Doug Hoehn, teacher, W.S. Neal High School, effective Jan. 3, 2011 (will also serve as athletic director and head football coach.)

Employment Change: Ouida Walls, six-hour lunchroom worker, Rachel Patterson Elementary School, to seven-hour lunchroom worker, Rachel Patterson Elementary School, effective Dec. 13, 2010 and Teresa Fuqua, six-hour lunchroom worker, W.S. Neal Elementary School, to seven-hour lunchroom worker, W.S. Neal Elementary School, effective Jan. 3, 2011.

• Scheduled the next school board meeting for 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 27, 2011 at Huxford Elementary School.