Budget is down from 2017

Jay Schools will advertise a 2018 budget of just over $35 million.

“That’s actually a little less than was approved last year (by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance),” business manager Brad DeRome told the Jay School Board at its Monday meeting as it approved advertising the projected spending plan.

“This will be reduced even more,” said DeRome.

Last year, he noted, the advertised budget was cut $1.2 million by the DLGF.

The 2018 budget — $35,030,778 — calls for general fund spending of $23.4 million, debt service of $4 million, capital projects totaling $3.4 million, transportation spending of $2.6 million, pension debt service of $891,318 and bus replacement at $796,000.

The 2017 budget was $35.44 million and had been initially advertised at more than $36 million.

DeRome stressed that the budget projections are based upon keeping Judge Haynes Elementary School open because the board has not yet made a decision on its closing.

But superintendent Jeremy Gulley pointed out that the Judge Haynes decision is looming.

“We begin the work in earnest at September’s board meeting,” Gulley said of the potential school closing. “Next month, you’ll get an update on that, and I will include a timeline. … You’re going to get everything we have in our analysis next month.”

Gulley said the process will be similar to what the board went through this spring as it grappled with closing Pennville Elementary School and will include an online survey for school patrons and constituents.

But because budget approval is on a different timeline, expenses related to Judge Haynes were left in.

“Judge Haynes is left open (in the budget) because that is up to the school board,” said DeRome. “I’m not going to force the issue.”

“The entire budget is status quo,” said board president Kristi Betts.

Gulley added, “We ought not to adjust the numbers ahead of a decision.”

The school corporation has been dealing with spending cuts in the face of declining enrollment and a state funding mechanism that ties revenue to enrollment.

“The general fund is all funded by the state of Indiana,” said DeRome.

That decline in state revenues has been a factor in the corporation’s shrinking year-end cash balance. While not too many years ago the corporation ended the year with $3 million on hand, the year-end balance is now projected to be an all-time low of $1.4 million.

DeRome said a more prudent level would be $2.1 million, or enough to cover three payrolls if state support were for some reason interrupted.

Though the numbers are preliminary, the budget calls for a debt service tax rate of 44.15 cents per $100 assessed valuation, 36.82 cents for capital projects, 27.31 cents for transportation, 11.38 cents for bus replacement and 9.35 cents for pension debt service, for a total school tax rate of $1.2901.

Those numbers are likely to change dramatically. For instance, the 2017 tax rate was advertised at $1.312 and came in at 99.3 cents after adjustments by the state and revised figures on total assessed valuation in the district.

The proposed budget will be advertised Wednesday in The Commercial Review and News and Sun. A public hearing will be held Aug. 28. Budget adoption is set for Sept. 18, and it then will go to the DLGF for review and revision.

DeRome cautioned that the revenues — particularly in the general fund — are merely projections. Continued declines in enrollment could further erode the level of state support. The budget calls for a drop in state support of $367,000 already based upon the latest enrollment figures. That could go even lower.

Currently, Jay Schools projects an enrollment this fall of 3,302 students, down 56 since February. There have been accompanying reductions in the number of employees, with the headcount expected to be down by 30 from last year through attrition and retirements.

In other business, the board:

•Hired Lois Ridgway Weekley as a bus driver, Cindy Bracy as a part-time bus driver, William Lawrence as a part-time bus aide, Jennifer Nelson as a bus aide, Theresa Jones as a part-time bus driver, Emily Knapke as an eighth grade special education teacher, Jill Aker and Tonja McClain as school nurses, Tonya McCoy as a temporary special education teacher, Sadie Bruggeman as a temporary second grade teacher, Ashley Heitkamp as a fifth grade teacher, Katelyn Grimes and Mekayla Nichols as part-time instructional assistants, Barbara Bertram as a part-time food service employee, Cindi Pyle as a kitchen manager, Mary Hemmelgarn and Mary Wilson as part-time library instructional assistants, Mike Schuck as a seventh grade language arts and science teacher and Doris Barger as a crossing guard.

•Approved the retirement of school health clerk Marsha Fuller and food service employee Carol Simos.

•Accepted the resignations of part-time instructional assistant Jill Ranly, school nurse Carol Rathbun, instructional assistant Caitlyn Fields, part-time instructional assistant Kathy Fennig, seventh grade science and language arts teacher Eric Hemmelgarn, food service employee Teresa Ward, instructional assistant Michelle Jackson and third grade teacher Lona Shuey.

•Approved leaves of absence for second grade teacher Lauren Budde, special education teacher Sarah Jennings-Eppard and food service driver Ron Middleton.

•Authorized field trips by the Jay County High School cheerleaders to national competition, a group of JCHS students to the Dominican Republic and a group of JCHS art students to Chicago.

•Approved bus requests from the Jay Community Center’s Summer Day Camp, the Immaculate Conception Catholic Youth Organization and the Jay County Public Library.

•Accepted the extra-curricular resignations of Rodney Craig as a seventh grade assistant football coach, Justin Simos as an eighth grade football coach and Catherine Berno as an elementary boys’ basketball coach.

•Approved the following JCHS coaching assignments for Amy Hawbaker (softball), Bill Back (assistant football), Chuck Wood (freshman football), Terry Robbins (freshman football), Jill Ranly (gymnastics), Butch Gray (golf), Whitney Gray (assistant golf), Joseph Missicano (assistant softball), Jarod Lochtefeld (assistant football), Zachary Fullenkamp (assistant boys soccer and freshman boys basketball), Renae Laux (assistant girls soccer), Brad Aker (assistant softball) and Laura Collins (assistant volleyball). Other coaching assignments approved were Shannon Current (West Jay Middle School eighth grade volleyball), Misty Missicano (WJMS seventh grade volleyball), Violet Current (WJMS sixth grade volleyball), Chelsea Grady (sixth grade volleyball) and Travis Theurer (assistant eighth grade football). Also approved were the following extra-curricular assignments: Irene Taylor (WJMS honor society, student council and pep club), Lisa Morgan (WJMS honor society and Just Say No), Sarah Ullom (JCHS color guard), Justin Simos (WJMS team leader). Chris Krieg was approved as head of the JCHS vocational department.