High school's debt leaves students without yearbooks

A $140,000 debt has some parents at a Fulton County high school fuming.

”It was a gross mismanagement of funds at Creekside, and now we’re sitting here where seniors don’t have a yearbook, parent Toni Thoton-Sanford said.

Late Thursday night, Creekside High School parents discussed the school's $140,000 in debt, including $40,000 owed to a company that prints their yearbooks.

The school board said the chief financial officer can speak about the unpaid bills, but is out of town at a conference.

”We have no memories of our senior year. I have a yearbook for every year, but I won’t have one for my senior year, student Jasmine White said.

The Fulton County School Board loaned Creekside $100,000 to help pay off its creditors, but the yearbook company will not supply yearbooks until its $40,000 debt is paid, making yearbooks out of the question for this year.

Parents found out about the debt during an audit and blame the school’s former principal for the outstanding bills.

”If we’ve gone years without an audit, someone in that critical position dropped the ball, Thoton-Sanford said.

School board member Linda Bryant told parents the school board did not realize the school was in debt.

”Everyone here is saying the policy was in place, but was it followed? Bryant said.

The school will have to repay the loan from the school board over the next six years.