Budget OK'd for schools

Jay School Board members approved a budget totaling $35,798,645 for local schools in 2010, the first year in which state taxes will cover 97 percent of the general fund.

Seven separate resolutions involving the budget were adopted Monday on a 6-0 vote, with board president Bryan Alexander absent.

The 2010 budget calls for spending $25,507,490 in the general fund and $384,165 in the special education pre-school fund. Both of those funds will be supported by state tax revenues. Other spending, coming from local property taxes, was projected at $3,526,389 for debt service, $981,421 for pension debt service, $3,230,000 for capital projects, $1,998,200 for transportation, and $171,000 for bus replacement.

But that spending plan may need to be adjusted if state support for schools is cut back.

"We have contingency plans all over the map on how to reduce expenses," superintendent Tim Long told the board.

The shift to state revenues in the general fund represents a major loss of control for local school boards, Long noted.

Business manager Brad DeRome said it's still too early to know what the impact of the budget will be on the local property tax rate. He used an artificially low estimate of the county's assessed valuation to be on the safe side in his calculations. The actual assessed valuation will be known at a later date, and the budget must still be approved by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.

DeRome and Long told board members that "if everything comes through from the state" the school corporation should be in sound shape at the end of calendar 2009.

But DeRome noted that interest earnings by the school corporation has taken a huge hit as a result of the national economy. "I am forecasting annual interest for 2009 to be only $26,000. This will be $120,000 less than what we earned in 2008," he told the board.

In other business, the board:

•Clarified the contract for basketball coach Lucas Cummings as a 3-year agreement.

•Presented JCHS diplomas to Ricky Davis and Toyanna Clark, the first students to earn their diplomas through the JCHS Annex at John Jay Center for Learning. "If you know people who are close to a diploma but fall a little bit short, send them to Jerry (Flanigan)," said Long. Flanigan is the teacher in charge of the annex, where students can work at their own pace via an Internet portal to complete coursework toward a diploma.

•Heard an update on Information Now, the Internet-based school communications program that is still being launched. Training is still going on for staff, and workshops for parents are planned later this fall. Those will be announced at a later date.

•Learned seven educators from Taiwan will be visiting JCHS and a Monroe Central school on Friday. Ten educators are expected to be visiting Indiana from China next spring.

•Heard an enrollment report from Long showing total enrollment of 3,626. JCHS enrollment is 1,107. East Jay Middle School is 562. West Jay Middle School is 316.

•Hired Cheryl Ruiz as a special education instructional assistant at Judge Haynes Elementary School, Mike McGraw as a custodian at JCHS, Megan Bilbo as a special education instructional assistant at East Elementary School, Lauren Budde as a special education instructional assistant at General Shanks Elementary School, and David Philebaum as a custodian at JCHS.

•Accepted the resignations of math teacher Marjorie Hess and special education instructional assistants Judy Redwine and Abigail Whitsel.

•Approved leaves of absence for bus driver Virginia Myers and fourth grade teacher Kathy Littler.

•Approved extracurricular assignments for Giles Laux, Jeanna Campbell, Ron Homan, Lori Sims, Stephanie Arnold, Irene Taylor, Bill Back, Shelly May, Laura McCollum, Tiffany Mathias, Donald Gillespie, Amy Grady, Tonya McCoy, Benjamin Freeman, Justin Lowe, Jack Houck, and Jan Hunt.

•Accepted the resignations of Aaron Vaughn as sixth grade boys' basketball coach at East Jay and Andrew Schmit as head wrestling coach at East Jay.

•Approved field trips by the FFA, the JCHS choir department, and the German exchange program.

•Agreed to lease gym space at West Jay Community Center for middle school basketball practices and elementary school basketball games at a cost of $3,200 for the school year.

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