Financial issues dominate

School spending practices were under fire at Monday’s meeting of the Jay School Board.
Former Jay County High School principal Phil Ford was sharply critical of the fiscal leadership of superintendent Tim Long over the past several years.
“When I questioned certain expenditures, I was told it was none of my business,” Ford told the board. He said he and former athletic director Bob Lutton once estimated that there is half a million dollars annually in “questionable spending.”
“And the overspending has continued,” said Ford. “You can’t close enough schools” if spending habits are not changed.
Ford said that when faced with the challenge of sharply declining enrollment in the 1980s, school business manager Bill Goshert and superintendent Loren Betz took a very different approach.
“I witnessed how carefully spending was approached, especially new expenditures,” he said.
Ford’s comments came before the board reconvened at JCHS to review an architectural study of the corporation’s buildings. (See related story.)
Financial matters dominated the board’s agenda Monday, with the 2016 budget receiving final approval on a 6-0 vote. (Board member Greg Wellman arrived after the vote was taken.)
The budget totals $35,846,688, with $11,790,387 coming from local property taxes and a tentative tax rate of $1.3352 per $100 assessed valuation.
The general fund totals $24,735,495, virtually all of which comes from state tax revenues rather than local property taxes.
School corporation business manager Brad DeRome told the board that enrollment was up 12 students from February but still down 21 from September 2014. That is expected to translate into about $415,000 less in the state’s basic grant. He estimated that the general fund will be down about $345,000 from last year and will have a year-end cash balance of about $1.675 million.
DeRome said he is still concerned about the corporation’s bank balances as the end of the year approached, but board members balked at the notion of granting him the authority to take out a short-term cash flow loan if necessary this fall.
“I’ve never had to do it, but I’ve been close,” DeRome told the board in seeking the authority to borrow up to $745,000 to meet payroll if there’s a delay in the state basic grant or the county property tax draw.
Board members, with school spending a major focus of the meeting, didn’t like the idea.
“Are we going to know about this loan before it happens?” asked board member Kristi Betts. “Giving blanket authority for three-quarters of a million dollars? I’m not okay with that.”
“The term ‘blanket approval,’ I’m not comfortable with that,” said board member Beth Krieg.
“I’m going to vote no,” said board president Mike Masters, calling it “a line in the sand.”
DeRome and board attorney Phil Frantz noted that a similar cash crunch occurred in April. At that time, DeRome approached local banks about a temporary cash flow loan because it appeared funds were going to be a day late to be able to meet payroll. He was told that the board needed to grant him authority in order to make such a loan possible.
Wellman, who along with board member Mike Shannon, supported granting the authority indicated he thought it made sense.
“The option is pay interest or don’t pay payroll,” he said.
The board declined to give DeRome the authority he requested on a 5-2 vote, with Shannon and Wellman voting in favor.
In other business, the board:
•Authorized DeRome to have an auction of surplus equipment at 4 p.m. Oct. 30 at the former bus barn at East Jay Middle School with Shawver Auctioneering conducting the sale. The board requested that in the future DeRome get competitive proposals from all local auctioneers.
•Approved an easement for a sewer line on school property in Redkey. The sewer line already exists; the easement is intended to more precisely describe its location.
•Learned that 722 students in grades kindergarten through three have signed up for 529 College Savings Plans through the Jay County Promise initiative.
•Approved an addition to the memorandum of understanding with bus drivers that clarifies treatment of bereavement leave and jury duty as it relates to the attendance bonus.
•Deferred acting on contracts for occupational therapy services until the board receives more information about the costs involved.
•Hired Meagan Stocker as an instructional assistant at JCHS, Mark Albertan as a remediation teacher at East Jay, John Friend as a bus driver, Michelle Jackson as an instructional assistant at JCHS and Glenda Masterson as a part-time cook at East Elementary School.
•Approved the retirement of bus driver Linda Bryan.
•Accepted the resignations of remediation teacher Ryan Thomson, instructional assistants Natasha Rhodes and Allison Bell, food service employees Lucas Rodden and Vickie Brotherton and technology instructional assistant Keri Harker.
•Approved leaves of absence for West Jay Middle School social studies teacher Curtis Little, East Jay math and science teacher Gina Brockman, Westlawn Elementary School instructional assistant Kim Kesler, JCHS health occupations teacher Jean Ann Poole and West Jay part-time art teacher Lindsay Edwards.
•Approved extracurricular assignments for Matt Slavik as swimming pool coordinator, Cori Vormohr as JCHS boys’ swim coach, Ed Geesaman as sixth grade volleyball coach at East Jay, Josh Selvey as boys’ basketball coach at Westlawn, Diana Hill as an intramurals leader at Westlawn, Lori DeRome as yearbook sponsor at Judge Haynes Elementary School, Valerie Jutte as boys’ basketball coach at East Elementary School, Jennifer Mickler as cheer sponsor at Redkey Elementary School, Josh Gibson as student council sponsor at East, Marc Bogenschutz as assistant girls’ basketball coach at JCHS and Dwane Ford as archery coach at JCHS.
•Approved field trips by JCHS German students to Chicago and Dayton, JCHS FFA students to Louisville, JCHS theatre students to Stratford, Ontario, JCHS band and guard to Gatlinburg and the JCHS wrestling team to Twin Lakes High School and Franklin High School.