School Services

Tom Pickens

Financial Consultant

Mr. Pickens, since March 1999, has provided consultant services for

Oklahoma schools to assist them in meeting their financial and legal

requirements at a reasonable cost. Basic service includes state aid

formula analysis (usually September, October, March, and April) to generate

more revenue and an ad valorem review to assure performance of the county

assessor's office. Also, two year revenue and expense projections to

estimate ending fund balances.

OTHER SERVICES

1. Act as an expert witness, available to work with the school

attorney. For example, consultant put together financial

information and helped formulate school finance strategy to get a

taxpayer lawsuit dismissed regarding a bond issue for a large

urban school district.

2. Evaluate independent auditor bids for services to determine

quality and best value for the school district. (Usually April,

May, June)

3. Review state aid penalty areas and make recommendations to

improve, e.g. class-size, carryover limits, administrative costs,

to help the district keep state aid and avoid undue publicity.

4. Provide cost studies, e.g. bus transportation, impact of student

transfer policy changes related to state/federal funding.

5. Evaluate banking services and determine cash management needs to

improve cash flow.

PERSONAL HISTORY Area of Expertise - Public School Finance

B.B.A. - Business - University of Central Oklahoma - 1979

M.A. - Education - Southern Nazarene University 1998

WORK EXPERIENCE;

5 years - Legislative Auditor - Oklahoma Legislative Fiscal Office

3 years - Research Coordinator - Oklahoma Department of Education

7 years - Assistant Director and Director of State Aid section at

Oklahoma Department of Education (Paymaster to all public schools)

3 years - Coordinator of finance and support services at Western

Heights Public Schools ($18 million budget)

Mr. Pickens passed the national certification tests for a

superintendent's certificate (July 1998)

Mr. Pickens has been teaching as an adjunct professor for the University of

Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK, on the subject of Oklahoma School Finance,

since the summer of 2000. Past teaching experiences have included

presenting workshops for the Oklahoma State Department of Education,

Oklahoma State School Boards Association, and the Oklahoma Association of

School Business Officials on the subject of Oklahoma School Finance and

related topics.

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