[00:00:02]
THIS MEETING TO HEAR THE SUPERINTENDENT'S BUDGET
[1. Warren County Public Schools - Alisa Scott, Finance Director ]
PRESENTATION.AND SO THAT, I DON'T FORGET, BEFORE THIS MEETING'S OVER, WE'LL HAVE A SPECIAL MEETING.
FIVE O'CLOCK? IS THAT WHAT WE DECIDED ON? SIX O'CLOCK? SIX? I THINK IT WAS SIX.
SO, DR. WRIGHT, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, I'M HAPPY TO PRESENT.
IT'S ACTUALLY NOT THE SUPERINTENDENT'S BUDGET ANYMORE.
THIS IS ACTUALLY THE ADOPTED SCHOOL BOARD'S, THE BUDGET THAT I WILL BE DOING SOME OF THE PRESENTING, UH, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE CABINET MEMBERS WILL BE, UH, PARTICIPATING IN PRESENTING.
SO, UH, THIS IS A BUDGET THAT WE ADOPTED, UH, A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO AT OUR WORK SESSION.
UM, AND I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE, UH, ADOPTED THE BOARD OF ADOPTED, UH, WITH A FIVE FIVE OH VOTE, AND I APPRECIATE THAT SUPPORT.
UH, I'M ALSO JUST WANNA SAY THAT I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN GETTING TALKED TO A LOT LA LATELY, SO I APPRECIATE THAT AND I UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS THE SEASON.
SO, UH, IT'S A VERY BUSY SEASON AND I KNOW WE WILL HAVE PROBABLY, UH, A HEALTHIER DISCUSSION ON THE 18TH IN OUR WORK SESSION.
SO WE WILL KEEP THIS SOMEWHAT BRIEF.
I THINK YOU'VE HEARD MOST OF THIS.
UM, BUT THERE ARE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED SINCE WE ADOPTED THE BUDGET.
THAT WILL BE THE BULK OF OUR CONVERSATION ON THE 18TH.
UM, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT BRIEFLY ABOUT THAT TODAY.
BUT REALLY, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU.
AND I KNOW YOU HAVE A VERY TOUGH TASK AHEAD OF YOU.
JUST TRYING TO DETERMINE, THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH MONEY IN THE POT, AND WE JUST APPRECIATE, WE APPRECIATE THE PERSPECTIVE THAT YOU HAVE.
AND, AND WHILE WE DON'T HAVE THE SAME PERSPECTIVE, WE UNDERSTAND IT'S NOT AN EASY, AN EASY, UH, TASK.
SO, UH, OUR AGENDA TONIGHT REALLY WILL LOOK AT OUR BUDGET SUMMARY.
UH, WE'LL LOOK AT SOME ENROLLMENT TRENDS AND THE FISCAL IMPACT.
UH, AND I WANNA TALK THROUGH THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
WE WILL TALK ABOUT OUR PERSONNEL AND COMPENSATION, WHICH IS THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF OUR BUDGET AND PROBABLY THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF EVERYONE'S BUDGET.
IT BOILS DOWN TO, TO OUR PEOPLE.
WE DO HAVE SEVEN HUNDRED, SEVEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY SIX FTES IN THE BUDGET.
UH, THE HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS, WE WILL TALK ON THAT TO A CERTAIN EXTENT.
WE'RE NOT GONNA GO INTO THE DETAIL THAT WE WILL GO INTO LATER TONIGHT IN OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING WITH OUR BOARD.
'CAUSE THAT WILL BE THE FIRST TIME THAT WE, WE SHARE SOME OPTIONS, UH, WITH OUR BOARD.
AND THEN WE'LL PROBABLY TALK THROUGH THAT, HOPEFULLY HAVE SOME MORE INFORMATION BY THE 18TH.
BUT THERE'S STILL A LOT, A LOT TO COME WITH THAT.
UM, THE OPERATIONAL ADJUSTMENTS WE WILL DISCUSS.
OUR TEXTBOOK FUND HAS NOT CHANGED AND OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS HAVE NOT CHANGED, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME UPDATES THAT WE WILL DISCUSS AT THE ENDS.
SO I JUST WANTED TO REVIEW THE BUDGET SUMMARY, REALLY THE BOTTOM LINE.
UM, SO YOU SEE THE LARGE ASK THAT WE HAVE, OUR FISCAL YEAR 27 OPERATING BUDGET REQUEST IS $82 MILLION, 82.6.
SO, UH, THAT IS, UH, WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR OUR OPERATING BUDGET, UH, LAST YEAR, OUR CURRENT YEAR, SO FISCAL YEAR 26TH YEAR THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY IN IS A $76 MILLION BUDGET.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE ARE OPERATING ON CURRENTLY.
UM, AT ONE POINT WE FELT WE WERE AT A BUDGET SHORTFALL.
WE HAD TAKEN MEASURES TO HOLD BACK, UH, SOME FUNDS AND NOT FILL THOSE.
UH, AND OUR A DM NUMBER, WHICH IS OUR AVERAGE DAILY MEMBERSHIP FOR THE MOST RECENT MARCH PROJECTION, LOOKS BETTER.
SO WE FEEL PRETTY GOOD, FORTUNATELY THAT WE SHOULD COME IN ABOVE BUDGET, LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE DO.
BUT IT WAS, UH, WE WERE UNCERTAIN THERE FOR A MOMENT.
SO WE WERE REALLY SCRAMBLING AND TIGHTENING THE BELTS AND DOING EVERYTHING WE COULD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAME IN.
AND, AND I THINK WE, WE LOOK PRETTY SOLID THERE.
SO, UH, WE WON'T HAVE, WE WON'T BE WAY OVER BUDGET.
THERE WON'T BE A LOT OF CARRYOVER FUNDS, BUT WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD BE THERE SO WE CAN ALL BREATHE JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
AND I CAN SLEEP A LITTLE BIT BETTER AT NIGHT.
UH, THE FISCAL YEAR 27, LOCAL OPERATING BUDGET IS AN INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR OF $5.8 MILLION.
SO THAT'S SIGNIFICANT INCREASE.
MOST OF THAT, ALMOST ALL OF IT.
5 MILLION OF THAT IS IN PERSONNEL, INCREASES, RAISES AND ADJUSTMENTS, UH, ESPECIALLY ADJUSTMENTS FROM SOME OF OUR EMPLOYEE EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE NOT SEEN AN ADJUSTMENT IN QUITE SOME TIME.
UM, AND WE'LL TALK THROUGH THOSE IN JUST A FEW MINUTES.
[00:05:01]
TEXTBOOK REQUEST IS ONLY $200,000.I SAY ONLY BECAUSE WE RECEIVE SOME GRANTS AND WE ALSO HAVE TEXTBOOK FUNDING COMING FROM THE STATE.
SO WE'RE GONNA HANG ON TO THAT, MAKE SURE WE USE IT FOR TEXTBOOKS.
WE ALSO RECEIVE GRANTS FOR THE MIDDLE SCHOOL, UH, THAT WE WILL PURCHASE IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, UH, THAT WE HAVE ALREADY.
I THINK, I THINK WE'VE ALREADY INITIATED THAT REQUEST WITH YOU.
UM, LASTLY, THE, THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND REQUEST WILL BE $1.2 MILLION.
WE'VE TALKED THROUGH SOME OF THOSE AT DIFFERENT TIMES WITH YOU.
THOSE HAVE NOT CHANGED EITHER.
UM, AND WE WERE PROBABLY TALKING A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ABOUT THOSE COMING UP ON, ON OUR, OUR WORK SESSION ON THE 18TH.
THE TOTAL ASK IS, UH, OR THE TOTAL INCREASE, UM, IS $7 MILLION, UH, WHICH WOULD BE THE FISCAL YEAR 27 COUNTING FUNDING INCREASE WOULD BE, THE TOTAL WOULD BE $7.2 MILLION AS OPPOSED TO THE 5.7.
SO WHEN YOU TAKE THE BUDGET OPERATING BUDGET AND YOU ADD THE CIP, YOU'RE LOOKING AT 7.2 MILLION ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
SO I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO, WENT THROUGH THIS AGAIN.
I'M JUST GONNA GO WITH ROB AND I'LL CORRECT MYSELF IN A MINUTE.
OKAY, WELL, WE'VE GONE OVER THIS AT OUR, OUR LAST WORK SESSION WITH YOU, BUT, UM, I'LL BRIEFLY GO THROUGH IT AGAIN.
AND, UH, WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE IS JUST PUT A SUMMARY OF WHAT OUR BUDGET LOOKS LIKE, WHAT THE COMPONENTS OF IT ARE, AND WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE STATE REVENUE, FEDERAL REVENUE.
WE GET MISCELLANEOUS FEES FOR USE OF FACILITIES AND OTHER, UH, THINGS THAT WE ARE PAID FOR, TAKING CARE OF COUNTY VEHICLES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, DR. WRIGHT MENTIONED ABOUT THE, UH, TEXTBOOK FUND AND USING STATE FUNDS THAT ARE COMING INTO OUR OPERATING BUDGET TO USE THOSE FOR THE TEXTBOOK FUND.
SO THAT SHOWS A REDUCTION, BASICALLY, UH, THE TRANSFER OUT OF 400, $12,720 FROM THE OPERATING FUND TO THE, UH, TEXTBOOK FUND.
AND THEN THE COUNTY APPROPRIATION THAT'S SHOWN THERE IS IF YOU LEVEL FUNDED US, JUST TO SHOW WHAT, ONCE ALL THE COSTS ARE ADDED UP, WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS.
AND THAT WOULD BE HOW MUCH THAT INCREASE IN THE COUNTY FUNDING WOULD NEED TO BE.
AND AS AGAIN, DR. WRIGHT MENTIONED, THAT'S RIGHT AT $7.2 MILLION WHEN YOU TAKE IN NOT ONLY THE OPERATING FUND, BUT THE, UM, TEXTBOOK FUND AND ALSO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR SALARIES AND BENEFITS, JUST TAKING FORWARD THE CURRENT POSITIONS AND GIVING AN INCREASE OF 4% PLUS A STEP.
AND, UH, MRS. DRAKE WILL BE TALKING AND DR. WRIGHT ABOUT THAT HERE IN A LITTLE BIT.
WE HAVE SOME PROPOSED NEW POSITIONS, BUT WE ALSO PROPOSE ABSORBING SOME POSITIONS SO THAT IT'S, I THINK ABOUT A 3.5 NET INCREASE.
AND THOSE COSTS ARE SHOWN THERE.
THERE'S A POSITION OR TWO WE'RE LOOKING AT ENHANCING.
AND AGAIN, WE'LL SPEAK TO THAT.
AND, UM, THEN THERE ARE SOME FEDERAL GRANT FUNDED POSITIONS THAT, AS FEDERAL GRANTS HAVE SHRUNK, UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT TRYING TO AT LEAST TAKE HALF OF THAT OVER THEIR FUNDING TO A LOCAL SOURCE.
SO WHEN YOU ADD ALL THAT TOGETHER, THE TOTAL SALARY AND BENEFITS PROPOSED IS, UM, $71.8 MILLION.
OUR NON-LABOR, AND AGAIN, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE DRIVERS TO IT, THAT WOULD BE ANYTHING, UH, THAT'S NOT, UM, EITHER EMPLOYEE RELATED, UH, SALARIES OR BENEFITS, THAT WOULD BE 10, 10.7 MILLION.
AND THAT BRINGS US TO A TOTAL PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET, UM, THAT'S BEING PRESENTED OF 82,627,000, UH, $213.
OTHER REQUESTS OF COUNTY FUNDS, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THAT WOULD REQUIRE A $5,796,057 INCREASE IN THE LOCAL FUNDING FROM THE CURRENT 29,400,000 THAT WAS SHOWN UP AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE, UH, AS WAS MENTIONED, $200,000 FOR THE TEXTBOOK FUND AND ALSO, UH, 1.2 MILLION FOR THE, UM, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND, WHICH BRINGS THE TOTAL INCREASE IN THE COUNTY FUNDING REQUESTED TO 7 MILLION 231 0 57.
[00:10:07]
THE NEXT PAGE IS THAT FIRST ITEM.WHAT'S THE LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE OF THE FEDERAL AND STATE, UH, REVENUE PROJECTION? PARDON ME? I'M SORRY.
YOU HAVE, UH, REVENUE PART ONE AND STATE AND FEDERAL OR NUMBERS? ARE THERE, IS THAT, ARE THOSE FINALIZED NUMBERS? THEY ARE DEFINITELY NOT FINALIZED.
SO WHAT'S THEIR CONFIDENCE LEVEL? THOSE ARE THE ONES, THE STATE REVENUE IS WHAT WAS PROPOSED BY GOVERNOR JUKIN AND HIS PROPOSED BUDGET BACK IN DECEMBER.
THAT'S ALL WE HAVE FROM THE STATE RIGHT NOW.
WHEN WILL YOU HAVE THE, WELL, TODAY IS THE DAY, MARCH THE FOURTH WAS THE DEADLINE FOR EACH CHAMBER TO ACT ON THAT CHAMBER'S BUDGET.
UH, THE OTHER CHAMBER CHAMBER'S BUDGET RATHER.
AND THEN IF THERE ARE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO, AND I HAVEN'T HEARD, BUT TYPICALLY THERE ARE, UM, THERE WOULD BE A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE WOULD WORK ON THOSE, AND THEIR GOAL IS TO HAVE ACTION ON ALL OF IT BY MARCH THE, UH, NINTH.
AND, UH, AS SOON AS THOSE BUDGET BILLS COME OUT OF THE TWO HOUSES, I'M SURE THERE ARE THE TWO, UH, NOW THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY THAT, UM, THE STATE WILL COME UP WITH A CALCULATION TEMPLATE AND THAT WILL TELL US WHAT, I CAN GO IN THERE AND SEE WHAT OUR REVENUE WOULD BE FROM EITHER OF THOSE BUDGETS.
SO I'M HOPING NEXT WEEK, AND NO ONE SAID THIS, BUT HOPEFULLY NEXT WEEK WE WOULD HAVE A BETTER FEEL.
AND, UH, I THINK THE EXPECTATION IS THAT THE STATE FUNDING MAY BE BETTER THAN WHAT WE'RE BASING IT ON HERE, WHICH WOULD BE GOOD FOR ALL OF US, BUT UNTIL WE SEE IT, WE DON'T KNOW.
SO WHAT ABOUT THE FEDERAL NUMBER? THE FEDERAL NUMBER IS BASED ON WHAT OUR, UM, GRANTS ARE THIS YEAR.
THE FEDERAL GRANTS REALLY DON'T GET AWARDED IN THE AMOUNTS GIVEN TILL PROBABLY JULY OR AUGUST OF THIS YEAR.
UM, SO WE'RE JUST BASING THOSE ON WHAT OUR CURRENT, UM, FEDERAL GRANTS ARE FOR EACH OF THE DIFFERENT GRANT CATEGORIES.
UH, IS THERE ANYTHING IN THE PIPELINE? I MEAN, IS THERE ANYTHING, ANY REASON AT ALL TO EXPECT A NUMBER TO BE HIGHER OR LOWER? THAT'S MY BASIC QUESTION.
I, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S ANYTHING IN THE PIPELINE TO EXPECT HIGHER.
UH, THERE'S A POTENTIAL, IT COULD BE LOWER.
AND WHAT HAPPENS IS WE TYPICALLY TRY TO CARRY OVER AND WE CAN, UM, IN THE FEDERAL GRANT, 'CAUSE IT'S REIMBURSABLE, UM, ABOUT 15%, SO THAT IT WOULD CUSHION US GOING INTO THE NEXT YEAR, UM, IF THERE WERE A REDUCTION.
AND HOPEFULLY THAT REDUCTION WOULDN'T BE MORE THAN 15%.
I DON'T NOTE ANYBODY'S HEARD THAT IT'S GONNA BE MORE THAN THAT, AND IT TYPICALLY HASN'T BEEN.
SO WE DO HAVE THAT CUSHION OF 15% FROM THE CURRENT YEAR, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S CARRIED OVER FOR MANY, MANY YEARS AND GIVES US A LITTLE PROTECTION OR HEDGE ON A REDUCTION IN THE FEDERAL REVENUE.
SO THE NEXT PAGE IS SHOWING THERE, UM, PARTICULARLY WELL THE LEFT HAND SIDE IS OUR STATE, UM, REVENUE AS, UH, PROPOSED IN GOVERNOR YOUNGIN'S PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE BIENNIUM.
UM, YOU CAN SEE WE'VE REDUCED OUR TARGETED OR OUR PROJECTED STUDENT, A DM BY 171 STUDENTS.
IT'S ALWAYS BETTER TO BE A LITTLE BIT CONSERVATIVE ON THAT THAN IT IS TO BE THE OTHER WAY AND THEN END UP SHORT IN REVENUE.
SO, UH, OUR HOPE IS THAT NUMBER'S GOOD AND, AND IF IT'S BETTER, THEN WE'LL WE'LL BE TO THE GOOD.
UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S ALMOST 1.5 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL STATE FUNDING COMING NEXT YEAR, EVEN WHEN WE REDUCE OUR MEMBERSHIP, WHICH, UH, DOES AFFECT STATE REVENUE.
THE RIGHT HAND SIDE ARE THOSE FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAMS WE JUST TALKED ABOUT, AND THOSE ARE THE LEVELS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR THIS CURRENT YEAR.
THEN THE MISCELLANEOUS REVENUE IS JUST THAT.
IT'S FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES, UH, FEES FOR SERVICES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE DO SHOW AS A TRANSFER OUT THE $412,720 TO THE TEXTBOOK FUND TO HELP GIVE THAT FUND A SUSTAINABLE SOURCE OF INCOME.
AND THEN THE COUNTY APPROPRIATION THERE, I'VE SHOWN IT AGAIN AS LEVEL FUNDED, BUT AS WE MENTIONED, IT WILL TAKE AN INCREASE TO BALANCE OUR BUDGET.
AND THAT IS A, UH, QUICK OVERVIEW OF OUR, OUR REVENUE PICTURE FOR NEXT YEAR AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
AND AS WE JUST TALKED, IT WILL CHANGE, I'M SURE, HOPEFULLY FOR THE BETTER.
[00:15:02]
THANK YOU, MR. VALENTINE.SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU NOTICED, BUT IN MY LAST FEW PRESENTATIONS, I SEEM TO BLANK ON LAST NAMES, SO I BLAME IT BECAUSE WE ALL ARE VERY CASUAL AND WE CALL EACH OTHER BY FIRST NAMES ALL DAY LONG.
AND I GET IN A FORMAL SETTING AND I'M LIKE, HEY, YOU
AND, UH, ONE OF MY MANY FLAWS.
SO THIS IS A SLIDE THAT WE HAVE CONDENSED INTO, INTO TWO OR THREE SLIDES IN OUR PREVIOUS PRESENTATION THAT WE CONDENSED TO ONE.
AND I REALLY WANTED TO SPEND SOME TIME TALKING ABOUT THE IDEA OF OUR A DM AND THE, AND THE DECREASE OF ENROLLMENT BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT COMES UP AND IT'S SOMETHING I'VE TALKED TO STAFF ABOUT.
WE HAVE HAD LOTS OF CONVERSATIONS IN OUR CABINET MEETINGS AND WITH OUR PRINCIPALS AND OTHER LEADERS IN THE SCHOOL DIVISION ABOUT HOW THIS IS IMPACTING OUR SCHOOLS, HOW IT'S IMPACTING OUR PROGRAMS, UH, AND HOW IT'S IMPACTING OUR STAFF.
SO AS WE LOOK AT A DM, THERE'S BEEN, IN THE PAST EIGHT YEARS, 550 STUDENTS DECREASE FROM OUR TOTAL AVERAGE DAILY MEMBERSHIP.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S TAKEN ONCE IN THE FALL, AGAIN IN THE SPRING, AND THEN THEY DETERMINE AN AVERAGE MEMBERSHIP FOR WHICH THEY PROJECT, UH, OUR, OUR FUNDING.
AND THEN IF IT'S RISES AS, UH, MR. VALENTINE SAID, IF IT HAPPENS TO DROP LOWER THAN THAT, THEY WOULD DECREASE OUR STATE FUNDING AS THAT COMES OUT IN, IN REGULAR INSTALLMENTS TO THE DIVISION.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE CALCULATE A VERY GOOD NUMBER TO A PREDICTABLE NUMBER AND A CONSERVATIVE NUMBER AS WE HAVE DONE.
BUT, UM, I THINK WE HAVE A, A VERY GOOD NUMBER THAT WE'VE PROJECTED AND WE, WE, WE HEDGED IT A LITTLE BIT ON THE LOWER SIDE FOR THIS COMING BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 27.
THE, THE, THE PIECE THAT GOES WITH THE DECREASE OF STUDENTS, AS YOU SEE IS OVER TIME WE'VE LOST $3.3 MILLION IN FUNDING.
AND YOU WOULD SAY, WELL, YOU DON'T NEED AS MANY STAFF.
AND I WOULD SAY, YES, I AGREE WITH THAT TO A CERTAIN, TO A CERTAIN POINT, AND WE'LL TALK THROUGH SOME OF THOSE THINGS.
THE NEXT BULLET DOWN, I JUST WANNA NOTE THAT WE ARE CONTINUING TO USING LOSING FUNDING, WHICH IS ONE OF OUR PRIMARY SOURCES OF, OF FUNDING FOR OUR SCHOOLS IS, IS THAT AVERAGE DAILY MEMBERSHIP.
SO THAT'S JUST AN ONGOING DECREASE IN FUNDING, MEANING WE ARE NOW RELYING MORE ON OTHER RESOURCES BECAUSE IT DOESN'T ALWAYS BALANCE OUT ONE-TO-ONE, RIGHT? SO WE WILL STILL NEED TO PAY THE BILLS FOR OUR SCHOOLS.
WE STILL NEED TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON.
WE STILL NEED TO PAY TEACHERS, MAYBE LESS TEACHERS, BUT WE STILL HAVE, UH, WE STILL HAVE A THREE OR FOUR THIRD GRADE CLASSES IN EACH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
WE STILL HAVE TWO OR THREE SECOND GRADE CLASSES AND SO FORTH.
SO, UH, THAT CORRELATION, THE NEXT BULLET DOWN BETWEEN THE FTES AND OUR A DM IS NOT NECESSARILY A ONE FOR ONE.
WE HAVE, IF WE HAVE 15 STUDENTS DROP OR 20 STUDENTS DROP, WE DON'T NECESSARILY DROP A TEACHER BECAUSE WE'RE LOSING STUDENTS FROM HIGH SCHOOL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND DIFFERENT POCKETS.
SO WHEN WE CAN, WE WILL REDUCE AND WE HAVE REDUCED FTES.
UH, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO DO IN OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ARE ACTUALLY ABOVE, UH, WHAT THEY SHOULD BE IN TERMS OF ENROLLMENT.
AND I'VE BEEN DOING ALL DAY SCHOOL VISITS, SO I CAN, I, I SAW THE NUMBERS.
IT'S ONE THING TO SEE THE NUMBERS.
IT'S ANOTHER THING TO GO INTO THE CLASSROOM, UH, AT, UH, AS ROADS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT HAS 26 SECOND GRADERS IN IT.
AND IT'S LIKE, OKAY, WOW, THIS IS, THIS IS UNCOMFORTABLE, RIGHT? AND THIS IS, IT'S WARM, IT'S SWEATY, AND IT'S, IT'S NOT A CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR INSTRUCTION.
AND, AND THAT'S, THAT IS WHAT THEY'RE DEALING WITH RIGHT NOW.
AND THAT'S REALLY ALL ACROSS OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
SO WE'RE NOT FEELING THAT AS FAR AS THAT, THIS REDUCTION OF STUDENTS.
WE'RE NOT SEEING THAT OR FEELING THAT IN OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS WHERE WE ARE SEEING IT AS IN OUR SECONDARY SCHOOLS.
SO WE ARE SEEING IT IN OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND IN OUR HIGH SCHOOLS.
THERE'S, THERE'S ROOM, THERE IS, UH, THERE'S SPACE AND IT'S NICE, RIGHT? BUT WE ALSO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO, UH, HOLD SOME POSITIONS.
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ABSORB SOME POSITIONS AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL.
SO I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE ARE ACTIVELY LOOKING AT THAT.
WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR PRINCIPALS, LOOKING VERY CLOSELY AT THE MASTER SCHEDULES, SAYING, OKAY, WE'RE LOOKING, WE SEE THAT YOU HAVE THIS MANY TEACHERS, YOU DON'T NEED THIS POSITION, AND YOU REALLY DON'T NEED THIS POSITION.
CAN YOU GET BY WITHOUT IT? AND
[00:20:02]
THE ANSWER'S USUALLY NO.BUT ONCE WE CONTINUE TO TO DISCUSS IT, WE, WE REALLY SEE THAT WE CAN, WE'VE HAD THE SAME CONVERSATIONS.
UH, SO I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT IN OUR CABINET, AND IT'S BEEN PAINFUL.
BUT WHEN FOLKS LEAVE, CAN WE, CAN WE ADJUST AND CAN WE ABSORB THOSE POSITIONS WELL IN OUR SCHOOL BOARD OFFICE? AND THE ANSWER IS USUALLY NO.
BUT THEN AS WE DISCUSS IT, WE, WE LOOK AT AND YEAH, SURE, SURE WE CAN.
SO WE ARE MAKING THOSE DECISIONS, THOSE VERY PAINFUL, DIFFICULT DECISIONS.
YOU SEE SOME IN HERE THAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE AND WE'VE MADE A NOTE OF THOSE THAT WE'VE ABSORBED.
THEY'RE, WE'RE STILL DOING IT WHEN WE CAN, AS LONG AS IT'S NOT GOING TO REALLY HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON OUR STUDENTS.
SO WHEN WE CAN DO IT, WE WILL DO IT AT A CERTAIN POINT, YOU KNOW, AT THAT POINT IT'S, WE'VE GOTTA STOP AND WE JUST GOTTA HUNKER DOWN AND, AND HOPE THAT NO MORE STUDENTS LEAVE.
SO I THINK, I THINK WE CAN SORT OF SEE THE BUBBLE.
WE CAN LOOK AT OUR, OUR, OUR MEMBERSHIP AND WE SEE, YOU KNOW, IT'S PROBABLY ANOTHER YEAR AND A HALF OR TWO YEARS WE'LL LEVEL OUT AND, AND THEN WE WILL LEVEL OUT.
AND THEN HOPEFULLY, I THINK WE'LL SEE PROBABLY EITHER WE'LL STAY THERE OR WE'LL START TO GO BACK IN THE OTHER DIRECTION.
WE CERTAINLY HAVE A LOT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS COMING THROUGH, SO THAT COULD MEAN THAT WE WILL START TO CLIMB AGAIN.
UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO TALK THROUGH THAT A LITTLE BIT IN DETAIL.
UM, I THINK I'VE MENTIONED THE OTHER THINGS THAT THE REASON THAT WE NEED MORE PEOPLE, MORE ADMINISTRATIVE FOLKS, UH, WHICH, YOU KNOW, SOUNDS TERRIBLE, IS THERE'S A LOT MORE ADMINISTRATIVE TASKS THAT ARE GOING ON BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF SCHOOLS.
SCHOOLS HAVE BECOME BATTLEGROUNDS, UH, FOR, FOR LEGISLATIVE ISSUES, FOR POLITICAL ISSUES.
I DIDN'T, I'VE NEVER DREAMED THAT WOULD HAPPEN.
BUT THAT, THAT IS, THAT IS WHAT IT IS.
AND OUR ADMINISTRATORS, OUR PRINCIPALS, AND SOMETIMES OUR TEACHERS ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT, WHICH MEANS, JUST LIKE YOU, OUR LEGAL FEES GO UP, OUR ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS GO UP, OUR FOIA COSTS, THE NUMBERS INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY.
SO WE, UM, WE ARE FEELING THAT AND A LOT OF OUR TIME IS SPENT DEALING WITH THINGS THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH INSTRUCTION, EDUCATION, UH, TEACHING, UH, WHICH IS UNFORTUNATE AND VERY SAD AND DISAPPOINTING, UH, FOR, FOR FOLKS THAT GOT INTO THIS.
'CAUSE THEY LOVE TEACHING AND INSTRUCTION.
BUT THAT IS, THAT IS THE CASE.
AND THAT UNFORTUNATELY DRIVES UP A LOT OF OUR, OUR COSTS IN TERMS OF JUST LEGAL FEES, UH, FOIA AND, AND OUR TIME HONESTLY IS SPENT A LOT OF TIMES DOING THINGS THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.
SO I WANTED TO HIT ON THAT POINT AS WELL.
IF THERE'S NO QUESTIONS ON THAT, WE'LL GO ON TO THE PERSONNEL AND COMPENSATION, UH, WHICH IS AGAIN, THE LARGEST DRIVER FOR, FOR OUR BUDGET, UH, MR. DRAKE.
UM, SO AS WE'VE PRESENTED BEFORE, WE ARE LOOKING AT A 4% PLUS STEP FOR ALL EMPLOYEES.
AND WE WILL ALSO LOOK TO ADJUST SOME SALARY SCALES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN LOOKED AT.
UM, OUR INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANCE, WE ARE ALIGNING TO THE JOB THAT THEY'RE DOING, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT MINIMUM WAGE.
UM, SO TO MEET FEDERAL OR TO MEET STATE MINIMUM WAGE, WE ARE RIGHT NOW, DEPENDING ON THEIR YEAR AND STEP.
UM, SO FOR OUR INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS, WE DO WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE COMPENSATING THEM AT MINIMUM WAGE.
AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT THAT BORDERLINE, AND THE SAME WITH OUR NURSES.
SO WE DO NEED TO ADJUST THOSE SCALES.
UH, LOOKING AT THE FEDERAL PROJECTION, WHAT HAS BEEN SAID, NOTHING HAS BEEN VOTED ON IS THAT IT WILL GO TO $15 PER HOUR AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
UM, SO ALL OF OUR ADJUSTMENTS ARE BASED OFF OF THAT, AND THAT WOULD HAPPEN IN 2027.
UM, HASN'T HAPPENED YET, BUT WE WOULD RATHER FINANCIALLY PLAN FOR THAT AND ADJUST THIS THAN HAVE TO COME BACK AND SAY, WE NEED MORE MONEY FOR OUR EMPLOYEES BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT BEING COMPENSATED.
OUR BUS DRIVERS, WERE LOOKING TO INCREASE THEM FROM A 4.5 HOUR DAY TO A FIVE HOUR DAY.
SO THAT WOULD NATURALLY INCREASE THEM.
AND THEN OUR VHSL HEAD COACHES, SO WE HAVE A, A T EXCUSE ME, A STRATEGY FOR THIS YEAR AND THEN NEXT YEAR TO DO THE ASSISTANT COACHES 'CAUSE THEY HAVE NOT BEEN DONE.
AND THEN OUR DEAN OF STUDENTS WOULD BE JUST ADJUSTING THEM TO A DIFFERENT SCALE AND WE ARE ACTUALLY REDUCING THE SUPPLEMENT THAT THEY WOULD BE GETTING.
UH, THE GOAL OF THAT POSITION IS TO BE MORE OF A SUCCESSION PLAN INTO AN ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL OR AN ADMINISTRATOR OF SOME KIND.
UM, IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A A LIFETIME POSITION.
[00:25:01]
UH, NEXT YEAR AS WELL.FOR OUR FTE STRATEGY, WE DO HAVE 8.5 REQUESTED, BUT WE ARE LOOKING TO DISSOLVE OR REMOVE FIVE OF THOSE POSITIONS.
SO WE ARE ONLY ASKING FOR A NET OF 3.5, WHICH IS $458,216.
AND WE WOULD LIKE TO REALIGN, UH, THREE OF OUR IRT POSITIONS AS WE JUST TALKED ABOUT, TITLE FUNDING.
UM, AS WE SEE A REDUCTION IN THAT, OR IF WE DO, WE DO NOT WANNA LOSE THE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE FUNDED BY TITLE FUNDING.
UM, SO WE WOULD LIKE TO SLOWLY MOVE THEM OVER INTO LOCAL FUNDING.
AND SO NEXT YEAR WE WOULD LOOK AT A 50 50 SPLIT FOR THAT.
UM, INCREASE OUR PART-TIME BOOKKEEPER HOURLY RATE, AND, UM, AT NO COST WOULD BE TRANSITIONING OUR DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES INTO HUMAN RESOURCES ONLY.
ANY QUESTIONS ON PERSONNEL AND SALARY? JUST REAL QUICK, I SEE HERE YOU GOT GRADES ONE THROUGH 41.
YOU MEAN PAY GRADES? I WAS AFRAID YOU MEANT YOU'RE EXPANDING IT FROM K THROUGH 12 TO K THROUGH 41, WHICH I KNOW I DID THAT ONE.
UH, I WAS HIRED IN, I'M LIKE, WHAT, WHAT IS, WHAT GRADE? WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? I DON'T TEACH SIXTH GRADE.
WHAT'S THAT? SO, NO, I UNDERSTAND.
UH, MOVING INTO HEALTH INSURANCE.
SO SINCE LAST TIME, UM, UNFORTUNATELY, UH, WE DID RECEIVE, UM, AS DID THE COUNTY, OUR QUOTE BACK FROM OUR RENEWAL.
AND WE HAD PREDICTED 12%, UM, AS EACH YEAR WE HAD HAD A 2% INCREASE.
AND TO, UM, TO OUR SURPRISE IS THE MOST KIND WORD I CAN USE RIGHT NOW.
WE WERE GIVEN A 23.7% INCREASE.
UM, SO FROM THE PRESENTATION THAT WE HAD GIVEN TO OUR BOARD FOR THE ADOPTED BUDGET, WE HAD ASKED FOR A 8.3 MILLION LOCAL COSTS INCREASE, UM, THAT WAS APPROVED.
AND WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT ON THE LAST SLIDE.
WE'RE NOT JUST GOING TO TAKE THIS RENEWAL AND SAY, OKAY, THIS IS ALL WE HAVE.
I HAVE A CALL OUT TO THEM TO SEE IF WE CAN NEGOTIATE ANYTHING.
I'VE BEEN TOLD TLC DOES NOT, BUT WE'RE STILL GOING TO TRY.
UH, WE WERE LOOKING TO JOIN TOGETHER WITH THE COUNTY FOR BENEFITS IN OUR RFP TO SEE WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE IF WE CAME TOGETHER, AND THEN EVEN IF WE RAN SEPARATE, UM, HOWEVER, BECAUSE THE COUNTY IS A JULY ONE AND WE ARE OCTOBER ONE, YOU HAVE TO SIGN YOUR RENEWAL.
IF YOU'RE STAYING WITH TLC BY APRIL 1ST, OUR RFP IS NOT GOING TO BE BACK UNTIL THE LAST WEEK OF MARCH.
THAT DOES NOT GIVE YOU ENOUGH TIME, UM, TO REVIEW OUR, OUR RATES AND DECIDE TO COME WITH US AND MISS YOUR RENEWAL.
SO UNFORTUNATELY, UM, DUE TO NO FAULT OF ANYBODY'S, WE JUST DIDN'T GET THE RATES IN UNTIL A FEW WEEKS AGO, UM, TO START THIS PROCESS.
SO HAD TLC GIVEN THEM TO US, UM, IN JANUARY AS PROMISED, WE WOULD BE IN A DIFFERENT SITUATION, BUT BECAUSE WE DID NOT, UM, WE WE CAN'T DO THE RFP TOGETHER THIS YEAR.
SO FOR THIS SLIDE, WE HAVE A FEW OPERATIONAL ADJUSTMENTS THAT WE PUT IN THE BUDGET THIS YEAR.
THE FIRST ONE HAS TO DO WITH THE SUBSTITUTE STAFFING TRANSITION.
WE DID MOVE OUR, UH, CONTRACTED SUBSTITUTE, UM, WITH ESS IN-HOUSE.
UH, SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE, HAVE DONE.
UM, AND, UM, WE FEEL LIKE THAT WILL, WILL, NUMBER ONE, PROVIDE US, UM, IN TERMS OF FINANCIAL BENEFIT, WE'LL, WE'LL SEE SIGNIFICANT, UH, BENEFIT THERE, UM, BY NOT PAYING THE OVERAGE FEE FOR THE, FOR THE CONTRACTOR.
SO I THINK THAT'S A GOOD MOVE THERE.
UM, I THINK, UM, ALSO BRINGING SUBS IN HOUSE AND SORT OF RUNNING THEIR BACKGROUND CHECKS AND DOING OUR, GOING THROUGH OUR, UM, ONBOARDING, I THINK WILL BE A BENEFIT TO US AS WELL, SO THAT THERE'S MORE OF A CONTINUITY, UH, AS THEY'RE OUR, OUR EMPLOYEES.
UM, NOT THAT IT WAS A BAD RELATIONSHIP WITH ESS, IT WAS JUST COSTING US, UH, TOO MUCH MONEY FOR THAT CONTRACTED SERVICE.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, OUR NON-LABOR BUDGET, WE DID TAKE SOME EFFORTS TO STREAMLINE THAT, PARTIALLY BECAUSE THERE WERE SOME TITLE, TITLE SUGGESTIONS, UH, WITH TITLE ONE THAT, THAT NEEDED TO BE CONSISTENT ACROSS, ACROSS THE SCHOOLS WAS A RECOMMENDATION THAT WAS MADE.
SO WE, WE MADE, UH, OUR ALLOCATIONS BASED ON OUR STUDENT ENROLLMENT AT EACH SCHOOL.
SO PER STUDENT, UH, WE, WE, UH, WOULD, WOULD SUBMIT MONEY TO THE SCHOOL BUDGET FOR OPERATIONAL, UH, NON-LABOR, UH, FUNDS PER STUDENT ALLOCATION.
SO, UH, AND WE UPPED THAT THIS YEAR, UH, 3%, UH, JUST BASED ON THE COST OF, OF, OF, UM, THOSE ITEMS. AND THEN, UM, THE DEPARTMENT
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INCREASES, UH, THAT WE HAVE, UH, FOR, UH, NON-LABOR ARE PRIMARILY, UH, IN TECHNOLOGY AND IT WITH THE COMPUTER REPLACEMENTS, UH, AND TRANSPORTATION, WHICH IS REPAIRS AND FUEL ESTIMATES.UH, HR WITH TAKING OVER, UM, FOR SUBS WITH UPDATING.
OUR PART OF THAT IS UPDATING OUR, OUR SYSTEMS. PART OF THAT IS UPDATING OUR FINGERPRINTING SYSTEMS, UH, WHICH I THINK ALL HAVE GONE OUT.
SO WE NEEDED TO UPDATE THAT AS WELL AS, UH, BRINGING ON THE SYSTEM THAT THAT AUTOMATES THE, UH, THE SUBSTITUTES, WHICH IT WAS CALLED RED ROVER, WHICH IS ALSO OUR TIME AND ATTENDANCE PIECE THAT WE WILL BE DOING FOR, UM, OUR EMPLOYEES AS WELL.
AND UH, LASTLY, UH, THE ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT ADMINISTRATION COSTS ARE REALLY THE FACILITY USAGE PROGRAM, WHICH IS ARBITER, WHICH IS NEW THIS YEAR.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, THE COST OF OUR, UH, HES CONTRACT, WHICH IS OUR CONTRACT FOR OUR CUSTODIAL AND MAINTENANCE SERVICES.
UH, SO THAT IS ONE THAT WE STILL CONTRACT OUT FOR.
UH, AND THAT INCREASE IS REFLECTED IN THAT BUDGET, AS WELL AS, UH, SOME SPECIAL SIGNIFICANT NEEDS FOR OUR SPECIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, MOSTLY IN REGARDS TO THE SIGNIFICANT NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS AND THE EQUIPMENT THAT THEY WOULD NEED.
WHICH BRINGS US TO MS. BRAGG, WHO'S GONNA SPEAK ON OUR TEXTBOOK FUNDS.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION? UM, YES.
THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I'VE BEEN, BEEN THROUGH THIS AND I'M, IT SEEMS LIKE THE, I THINK A MAYBE THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO, THE SUBSTITUTE'S BUDGET I THINK WAS LIKE A HALF MILLION OR $600,000 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, WHAT'S, WHAT'S DRIVING THAT? I MEAN, WHY IS IT IN A FEW YEARS, HAS IT DOUBLED? IF, IF I'M, IF I'M, IF I GET INFORMATION I COULD, I WILL ANSWER A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I WOULD SHARE.
AND THEN MS. STRIKE MAY HAVE A COUPLE OTHER THINGS THAT SHE WOULD LIKE TO SHARE.
I WOULD SAY ONE PIECE OF THAT WOULD BE THE COST OF, OF THE CONTRACTUAL SERVICES WITH THE MARKUP, UM, OF, OF THE, OF THE SUB.
SO FOR EACH SUB, THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT MARKUP OF 30, 30.9, 30.9%.
SO ROUGHLY 31% IN ADDITION THAT WE PAID AS SORT OF THE FEE, UM, AND THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS.
SO THAT, THAT WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT PIECE.
BUT THE OTHER PART OF THAT IS, IS YOU DON'T NEED THE ESS AND YOU DON'T REALLY NEED THE SUBS IF EVERYBODY COMES TO TO WORK.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE OTHER PIECE.
SO LOOKING AT, UM, IT'S SOMETHING WE'VE LOOKED AT AND WE'RE LOOKING AT OTHER SCHOOL DIVISIONS AND LOOKING AT THE NUMBER OF DAYS OF LEAVE THAT WE PROVIDE AND JUST HOW MANY FOLKS ARE MISSING DAYS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
BUT THERE ARE, I MEAN, IT IS, IF FOLKS MISS, WE CAN'T JUST, THEY HAVE TO HAVE A SUB.
SO WE HAVE TALKED TO OUR PRINCIPALS ABOUT WHO GETS SUBS, WHO DOESN'T GET SUBS WITH THE NEW SYSTEM, WE CAN AUTOMATE THAT.
CERTAIN FOLKS WOULD NOT GET A SUB, FOR EXAMPLE, CLERICAL WOULD NOT GET A SUB.
UH, THE ONLY FOLKS THAT WOULD REALLY GET SUBS WITH THOSE FOLKS THAT ARE NEEDED FOR INSTRUCTION.
SO, UH, IT'S A SECONDARY, LIBRARIANS WOULD NOT GET SUBS AT THE ELEMENTARY.
'CAUSE THAT'S A, THAT'S A SPECIAL AND THAT'S A ROTATION.
SO, SO REALLY TRYING TO, UH, THROUGH TECHNOLOGY, AUTOMATE, UH, WHO GETS SUBS AND WHO DOESN'T LIKE HELP MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT.
AND MS. DRAKE, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE? UM, THE OTHER THING IS THEY HAVE A 3% IN THEIR CONTRACT THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY IN ADDITION TO EACH YEAR.
SO THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER DRIVER OF THE INCREASE, NOT SIGNIFICANT, BUT STILL A 3% ON THEIR SALARIES AS WELL, WHICH THEN BOOSTS THEIR COMMISSION.
I'M NOT FOLLOWING THAT WHAT YOU MEAN? I THINK SHE'S REFERRING TO ESS YES, TO ESS.
OH, ES LIKE THEIR RATES, THEY GET A 3% INCREASE EACH YEAR.
SO WHAT, WHAT'S THE SAVINGS FROM DITCHING ESS? SO IT WOULD BE ABOUT $220,000, UM, THAT WE WOULD SAVE FROM THEIR COMMISSIONS TO US.
AND, AND WAS THE NUMBERS WAS LIKE THE FIVE, 600,000 NUMBERS FROM A FEW YEARS AGO.
PRE ESS AND, UH, THAT WAS WITH ESS, I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE THAT PULLED UP.
UM, BUT YEAH, SO FROM WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY BUDGETED OR ALLOTTED FOR WAS A LITTLE OVER HALF A MILLION AND IT'S ONLY CLIMBED EACH YEAR.
I THINK, I THINK MS. R JUST SAID IT, BUT WE HAD THAT, WE HAD THAT AMOUNT BUDGETED, BUT WE NEVER, WE ALWAYS EXCEEDED IT.
SO I DON'T WANT IT TO SEEM LIKE IN THE PAST TWO YEARS WE'VE NECESSARILY DOUBLED THE MONEY THAT WE'VE SPENT ON SUBS.
WE JUST, I DON'T THINK IT WAS BUDGETED APPROPRIATELY, JUST KEPT UNDER BUDGETING
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WE JUST KEPT NEEDING MORE MONEY FOR IT.
UM, SO IT WASN'T REALLY THAT WE WENT FROM 500,000 TO A MILLION, IT'S JUST THAT'S WHAT OUR BUDGET SHOWED, WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO SPEND AND WE WERE EXCEEDING IT.
ANY MORE QUESTIONS ON, ON THAT PIECE? IF NOT, MS. BAD.
UM, I KNOW THAT I'VE STOOD BEFORE OUR BOARD AND AND YOUR BOARD SEVERAL TIMES TO TALK ABOUT TEXTBOOKS.
AND AS DR. WRIGHT POINTED OUT, THE ASK ON THE TEXTBOOK AMOUNT HAS NOT ADJUSTED VERY MUCH.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS TAKING, UM, THE 400, JUST OVER $400,000 THAT THE STATE ALLOTS FOUR TEXTBOOKS AND PUTTING THAT DIRECTLY INTO THE TEXTBOOK FUND IN ORDER TO PURCHASE BOOKS.
AND THEN ASKING FOR AN ADDITIONAL $200,000 FOR THIS COMING SCHOOL YEAR TO, UM, SUPPLEMENT WITH THAT TO PURCHASE ELEMENTARY K FIVE MATH TEXTBOOKS.
WE WERE AWARDED A MATH INNOVATION GRANT AT THE BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY FROM, UH, THE VDOE.
AND THAT MATH INNOVATION GRANT INCLUDED, UM, FUNDS TO PURCHASE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL.
SO WE'VE KIND OF REMOVED THE MIDDLE SCHOOL PURCHASE FROM THE ASK.
UM, $600,000 IS A LOT OF MONEY TO PURCHASE A K FIVE ELEMENTARY BOOK.
YOUR ELEMENTARY PURCHASE IS USUALLY PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL BECAUSE, UM, IT'S NOT POSSIBLE TO DO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO AT SECONDARY, LIKE BY CLASS SETS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
EVERY, EVERY CLASS AT ELEMENTARY IS ITS OWN CLASS, SO YOU CAN'T PURCHASE A CLASS SET 'CAUSE KIDS AREN'T ROTATING INTO THE SAME CLASSES, YOU KNOW, DAY IN AND DAY OUT.
SO YOU HAVE PRETTY MUCH PURCHASED A BOOK FOR EVERY KID AT A K FIVE, AT A K FIVE PURCHASE.
UM, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF LOOKING AT WHAT THAT MIGHT, UM, WHAT THAT BOOK MIGHT BE AND GOING THROUGH THE VENDORS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, UM, IN HOPES THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO PURCHASE A NEW RESOURCE.
OUR MATH TEXTBOOK AT ELEMENTARY, THE CONTRACT RAN OUT IN DECEMBER, SO WE WILL NOT REALLY HAVE A, UM, HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL PROVIDED BY THE DIVISION AT ELEMENTARY IF WE DON'T DO A TEXTBOOK PURCHASE FOR ELEMENTARY.
AND THEN THE SAME IS TRUE FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL, BUT LIKE, SAY THAT'S GONNA BE COVERED THROUGH THAT MATH INNOVATION GRANT.
UM, IF THERE'S ANY MONEY LEFT OVER FROM THAT ROUGHLY $600,000, WE'LL TURN OUR ATTENTION TO PRIORITIZING SOME SOCIAL STUDIES NEEDS.
WE HAVE NOT PURCHASED A SOCIAL STUDIES TEXTBOOK SINCE 2012 FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, K 12.
SO, UH, PRIORITIZING SOL TESTED COURSES AND THINGS LIKE THAT AT THE ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, AND HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL WILL BE SORT OF THE NEXT PRIORITY.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT TEXTBOOKS? THANK YOU AND GOOD EVENING, MADAM CHAIR BOARD MEMBERS.
UM, THAT WHAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU IS OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR.
UM, THE NUMBERS THAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU ARE BASED ON THAT.
WE DID A ROOFING CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT ROOFING PLAN AND THIS WAS PROJECTED FROM THE COMPANY TO WHERE THAT WE NEEDED TO REPLACE HILDA J BARBER IN SKYLINE MIDDLE SCHOOL.
UM, THERE ARE AUXILIARY BUILDINGS.
THOSE WERE THE, UM, THE ESTIMATED COSTS IN GETTING THAT, THOSE, UM, ITEMS DONE AND TAKEN CARE OF THE, UM, MAT CONTROL SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING OUR ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, AS YOU CAN SEE THERE.
AND THEN ALSO FOR TRANSPORTATION.
AND TRUTHFULLY, EACH ONE OF THESE, IT IS, IT IS A VERY LARGE COST.
IT IS A BIG ASK, BUT THE THING THAT WE'RE HOPING IS THAT IT'LL HELP IN THE LONG RUN.
IF WE CAN SLOWLY START REPLACING OUR FLEET FOR OUR TRANSPORTATION, WE WILL CONTINUE TO REDUCE THE COST OF REPAIRING AND MAINTAINING OUR OLD FLEET AND KEEPING THE BUSES THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE ROLLING.
UM, THE COST OF KEEPING AN OLD BUS GOING IS AROUND $30,000 VERSUS A NEW BUS IS AROUND $6,000.
SO THAT'S WHY THAT ASK IS THERE THE REASON, SAME FOR THE ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, IF WE CAN CONTROL OUR HEATING AND AIR, WE'LL BE ABLE TO SAVE SOME MONEY INSTEAD OF HAVING THE AIR CONDITIONING RUN.
AND THEN ALSO, IF THERE'S AN A PROBLEM THAT'LL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY, WE'LL BE ABLE TO GO TAKE CARE OF IT REAL QUICK INSTEAD OF SPENDING TIME AND LABOR TROUBLESHOOTING IT.
AND IT'S THE SAME WITH REPAIRING THE ROOFS AS YOU KNOW, WE CAN PATCH 'EM, WE CAN KEEP 'EM, UM, DO OUR BEST TO KEEP THE RAIN AND THE SNOW OUT.
BUT, UM, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT THEY JUST NEED TO BE DONE.
UM, I'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
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THE MAC SYSTEM, THAT'S JUST FOR THE HEATING AND AIR THAT DOESN'T DO ANY WITH THE LIGHTS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT? NO, MA'AM.IT'S JUST FOR THE HEATING AND THE AIR CONTROL SYSTEM? YES, MA'AM.
SO, SO THIS IS OUR ADOPTED BUDGET AND THAT WE PRESENT TO YOU.
THIS WILL PROBABLY LOOK NOTHING LIKE WHAT WE END UP WITH, UM, BY THE TIME WE GET THROUGH WITH IT, BY THE TIME WE MEET ON THE 18TH.
AND THEN ONCE WE GET OUR INSURANCE, UH, FINALIZED AND REALLY GO BACK OVER EVERY, EVERYTHING AND, AND RECEIVE OUR REVENUE FROM THE STATE AND WHATEVER FUNDS THAT, UH, WE RECEIVE FROM, FROM THE COUNTY AND THEN FIGURE OUT HOW TO, TO MAKE IT ALL WORK.
UH, SO AGAIN, JUST, UH, THE BOARD ADOPTED THIS BUDGET.
WE ARE PRESENTING IT TO YOU AT THIS TIME AS A REQUIREMENT, UH, PER PER CODE THAT, THAT WE PRESENT OUR ADOPTED BUDGET AND SHARE IT WITH YOU.
BUT, UH, WE UNDERSTAND AS YOU DO THAT, THIS IS A BACK AND FORTH AND THIS IS, UH, WE APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR WILLINGNESS TO, TO LISTEN TO ALSO COME BACK AND, AND ASK QUESTIONS AND THEN COME AND SIT WITH US ON THE 18TH THAT, UH, AT 15TH STREET, UH, TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT SOME POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS.
UH, WE, WE, WE DON'T HAVE A MAGIC WAND AND YOU DO NOT EITHER, BUT WE JUST APPRECIATE YOU COMING TO THE TABLE AND SITTING DOWN WITH US BOARD TO BOARD AND WITH OUR STAFF AND YOUR STAFF TO, TO BRAINSTORM AND, AND HAVE A HEALTHY DISCUSSION ABOUT, UH, ANY, ANY CREATIVE SOLUTIONS AND OPTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
UH, THE LAST THING WE LEAVE YOU WITH IS NOT IN OUR BUDGET, BUT THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE ALLUDED TO EARLIER THAT, UM, WE WERE NOT AWARE OF AT THE TIME THAT WE WERE, UH, YOU KNOW, PROPOSING OUR ADOPTED BUDGET OR THEY CAME OUT RIGHT AROUND THE SAME TIME AND WE REALLY COULDN'T ADD THEM TO, 'CAUSE IT WAS JUST TOO LATE TO, TO ADD 'EM IN BEFORE WE GOT, UH, TO THE POINT THAT WE WERE NEEDED TO ADOPT A BUDGET.
SO THE 11% INCREASE THAT YOU'RE WELL AWARE OF, UM, WHICH IS, UM, WHAT TO, UH, UH, 1.6 MILLION, UH, WHICH IS 107, $7,000.
AND THEN THE EMPLOYEE, THE ONE WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, THE, THEY'RE BOTH BIG, THEY BOTH HAVE A SIGNIFICANT, UH, IMPACT ON OUR BUDGET AND, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL NEED TO FIGURE THOSE OUT.
SO TONIGHT AT OUR MEETING, WE WILL BEGIN TO TALK THROUGH THE HEALTH BENEFIT PIECE, UH, AND WE'LL SHARE SCENARIOS.
YOU'RE WELCOME TO STAY, UH, UH, IF YOU WANT TO GET A GLIMPSE OF IT.
IF, IF NOT, WE WILL BE SHARING SOME MORE DETAILS OF THOSE ON THE 18TH.
UH, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING WITH YOU THEN.
SO, BUT WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS FOR ANY OF US, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN THOSE.
CAN I CLARIFY, UM, THAT THESE NUMBERS ARE NOT ON THE 7.2 MILLION, IS THAT CORRECT? THEY ARE NOT.
SO YOUR INSURANCE, WE NEED, UM, THE INSURANCE PART ARE, ARE WE UNDER, I KNOW WE'RE NOT UNDER THE SAME INSURANCE, BUT IS IT THE SAME INSURANCE COMPANY? YES.
UM, YEAH, THE LOCAL CHOICE WOULD SHORTEN IT BECAUSE I'M JUST CURIOUS AS TO WHY YOURS IS SO MUCH HIGHER.
UM, WELL, SO WE HAVE, UM, OVER FIVE, ALMOST 560 EMPLOYEES ON OURS.
AND SO OUR CLAIMS WENT UP OVER $2 MILLION THIS YEAR.
UM, AND I BELIEVE YOU GUYS FROM TALKING TO MS. DAR ONLY HAVE A LITTLE, MAYBE 200, A LITTLE OVER 200 ON YOUR PLAN, SO YOU JUST HAVE LESS CLAIMS. SO WE GET A BIGGER PIECE OF THAT PIE FOR THAT OUR CLAIM.
THAT'S, UM, I'M GONNA STAY TO HEAR HOW YOU PLAN TO DEAL WITH THAT WITH THE STAFF.
'CAUSE I KNOW THAT'S A, THAT'S A HARD ONE.
SO YES, IT IS ON, ON THE, ON THE HEALTH INSURANCE CEO IT WAS BROUGHT TO ME AS A CONCERN WHILE BACK ALL AS FAR AS WHAT PERCENTAGE THAT WERE OFFSETTING BENEFITS VERSUS THE OTHER COUNTIES.
AND THEN, UH, WITH A 4% RAISE INCREASE WITH THAT, WILL THEY BRING HOME LESS MONEY? UH, OH, I THINK THEY'RE, WE'RE GONNA TRY NOT TO DO THAT.
UM, WE'RE GONNA RUN SCENARIOS TONIGHT.
UM, WE'RE RUNNING, WE'RE HAVING A DISCUSSION OVER FOUR SCENARIOS AND UM, OPTION FOUR IS OUR PREFERRED THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT WHERE THAT WOULD THEN STILL BE AN INCREASE OF $1 MILLION.
WE'LL, TRYING NOT TO PUT THE FULL BURDEN ON OUR EMPLOYEES SO THEY CAN SEE THAT TAKE HOME OF 4%.
'CAUSE I KNOW A COUPLE, WELL PROBABLY SEPTEMBER, 2024, IT'S ON A SCHOOL EMPLOYEE AND THEY SAID THEY GOT A STEP
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COLA OR WHATEVER INCREASE, BUT THEN WITH THE INCREASE IN THE HEALTH INSURANCE, THEY ACTUALLY DID BRING HOME LESS.THAT, THAT IS WHAT WE WILL TRY TO AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
RIGHT, BUT WHAT, UH, THE UTILITIES, I THINK EVERY SCHOOL EXCEPT SKYLINE IS IN THE TOWN OF FRONT ROYAL, BASICALLY.
AND I GUESS YOU'VE SEEN THAT, I DON'T KNOW HOW WHERE, WHERE YOU CAME WITH THE 11% INCREASE, BUT I SAW SOMETHING IN THE PAPER WHERE IT TALKED ABOUT, UM, THEY'RE RUNNING ABOUT A $1.1 MILLION DEFICIT THERE.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT 11 CENTS, 11% IS GONNA COVER IT.
UM, AND THE ONLY OTHER THING, YOU KNOW, JUST TO POINT OUT THAT YOU GUYS ALREADY KNOW IT, BUT BASICALLY YOU GET 58% OF YOUR FUNDING FROM THE STATE, UH, ROUGHLY 4% FROM THE FEDS AND 38% LOCAL.
AND IF I UNDER, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, THE FEDS GIVE THE LEASE, BUT THEY SAID BASICALLY ALL YOUR PARAMETERS AND RULES YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW.
IS THAT PRETTY MUCH ACCURATE OR ELSE THEY PASS IT DOWN TO STATE AND IT GETS PASSED DOWN TO US? THAT'S, THAT'S PRETTY ACCURATE.
SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND THAT YOU HAVE TO DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO BASED ON THE STATE MANDATES.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME FOR? OKAY, WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
WE'LL SEE YOU AGAIN ON MARCH 18TH FOR THAT SPECIAL MEETING.
SO WE WILL BE ADJOURNED FROM HERE AND WE'LL LET YOU TAKE IT OVER.