Rainy day $ moved

A request to move money from a “rainy day” fund into the general budget set off an in-depth discussion among members of the Jay School Board.
Faced with potential shortfalls before the end of the year thanks to more than $1 million in state funding cuts, business manager Brad DeRome asked approval to use up to $250,000 in four budget categories between now and Dec. 31. The board approved the request by a 7-0 vote, but not before talking it over.
“If I can have this flexibility … this will help us stay in the black for 2010,” DeRome said.
But board member Mike Masters, while recognizing the need to have the corporation’s books in the black, expressed concern over the possibility of spending all but $2,000 of the rainy day funds, which accumulate from the transfer of leftover money at the end of budget cycles.
“What happens if we have a building emergency?” asked Masters.
DeRome said he would likely dip into the capital projects fund under such an occurrence.
A resolution approving the use of the rainy day money specifies that up to $75,000 each may be spent for repairs/maintenance and operation supplies. A $50,000 limit was set in insurance benefits and salaries for preschool employees.
Masters, looking ahead to likely reductions next year in school funding by the state, asked if it was prudent to spend the reserves.
Jay Schools superintendent Tim Long said that more cuts are anticipated, and that administration has prepared a list of the first 20 cuts that will be made if the time comes.
“We’re prepared to make reductions if we have to make reductions,” Long said.
One cost-saving measure that has been taken in the past year was eliminating the equivalent of 24 full-time employees (to 523 from 547).
Many of the reductions, Long said, were through retirements or other measures that did not require layoffs.
During his monthly financial report, DeRome told the board that property tax caps are expected to cost the corporation approximately $176,000 in 2011. The caps limit the tax bill to a percentage of a property’s assessed valuation. Those caps are 1 percent for residential, 2 percent for agricultural, and 3 percent for commercial/ industrial.
The caps were passed several years ago by the Indiana legislature. An amendment to Indiana’s constitution that would make the caps permanent is on the ballot this fall.
The total school tax rate for 2010, payable 2011, is $1.22 per $100 of assessed valuation, but property owners may not pay that full rate if the percentage caps are exceeded. That rate is 4 cents higher than 2009.
DeRome also told board members that corporation enrollment numbers are up by 37, meaning a boost in per-student state funding.
Board members also agreed Monday to begin the process of negotiating a new contract with the Jay Classroom Teachers Association.That contract ends at the end of this school year, and Long recommended that talks begin sometime in November. Board members concurred.
Board members Michael Shannon, Larry Paxson and Jim Sanders are on the negotiating committee along with Long. Also present Monday from the board were Greg Wellman, Jay Halstead, president Bryan Alexander and Masters.
“I think it’s a good idea to get back at the table and start looking at some things,” Long said.
In other business Monday, members of the board:
•Approved a memorandum of understanding that sets pay for substitutes serving as a “head teacher” or “administrative substitute” at $100 per day.
•Heard Long report that he continues to work on putting a proposed 3-hour delay policy in writing. The new policy, which is tentatively scheduled to go into effect when the second semester begins in January, would add an extra hour on the end of the school day to fulfill state requirements for an instructional day.
The extra hour in the morning could allow county road crews to clear snow/ice or allow fog to dissipate, Long said.
He has discussed the issue with school employees because the extra hour at the end of the day constitutes a change in working conditions. The employees were on board with the changes.
•Learned from assistant superintendent Wood Barwick that four new curriculum-related goals have been established.
The goal with the most visible impact could be one that will revamp the K-5 curriculum corporation-wide using local 4-Star elementary schools General Shanks, Pennville and Bloomfield as a model.
Other goals are: Develop a third grade literacy plan by April 1, 2011; build a new algebra I curriculum by June 1, 2011 and include technology in the library/media curriculum by May 1, 2011.
Barwick also said that enrollment in vocational-technical programs at Jay County High School has risen.
Because the corporation gets funding for each participating student, total revenue is up to $1.12 million, an increase of about $300,000 over last school year.[[In-content Ad]]