Board reviews 2015 budget

BERNE — South Adams School Board took a first look at its 2015 budget during a work session Tuesday.
Board members reviewed the budget, which comes in at just under $15 million, with a goal of giving approval to advertise next week.
At a special meeting following the work session, they also hired new employees in preparation for the start of school Tuesday.
The board reviewed a budget that calls for $14,867,641 in spending for 2015, with $9.2 million of that total in the general fund. Those numbers are down from 2014’s totals of $15.2 million overall and $9.5 million in the general fund.
It plans to vote to give permission to advertise the budget at its next regular meeting Tuesday. The budget must be advertised twice before a public hearing scheduled for Sept. 9, after which the board is expected to vote to approve the budget Oct. 14.
All general fund dollars come from the state and are based on enrollment (estimated at 1,250), while the remaining funds — capital projects ($2.1 million), debt service ($1.8 million), transportation ($1.5 million) and bus replacement ($110,000) — are raised through local property tax dollars. Based on those numbers, the tax rate is projected at $1.62 per $100 of assessed value.
Estimates show South Adams will spend about $600,000 more than it takes in during 2015, which would take the year-end general fund balance down to about $1.2 million. The school system spent nearly $400,000 more than in brought in last year.
“It’s a concern anytime you have deficit spending,” said superintendent Scott Litwiller.
“Fortunately we had a healthy cash balance, and so it gives us time to make adjustments. We know that we can’t continue this, but we also know we have a little time to make the changes.”
He said he’d like to see South Adams with a year-end balance of about 12 to 15 percent of the annual general fund budget. That works out to between $1.1 and $1.4 million.
Board members Arlene Amstutz, John Mann, Julie Mansfield, Amy Orr, Ray Gill and Landon Patterson also approved the hiring of Molly Anderson and Anissa Burson (19-hour library aides), Courtney Butcher (fifth grade teacher), Logan Chandler (special ed classroom aide and bus aide), Gina Dunnuck (nurse), Christina Gilbert (high school guidance counselor), Jean Lehman (special ed bus aide) and Amanda Kitson (high school science teacher).
“This pretty much gets us all taken care of for the beginning of the school year,” said Litwiller.
In other business, the board, with John Buckingham absent:
•Approved the retirement of Cindy Minnich as school nurse, a position she has held since 1988. Also accepted the resignations of guidance counselor Todd Ruppert and assistant volleyball coach Rachel Burkhead.
•Hired coaches Andy Lehman (swimming), Kevin McClung (assistant boys soccer), Tequila Wagner (middle school cheerleading), Neil Stinson (volunteer assistant cross country), Randy Stuber (volunteer assistant middle school football) and J.D. Keller (middle school football).
•Elected Patterson as board secretary after Mansfield resigned from the position.