Stones outlines budget cuts for Holton B.O.E.

With the uncertain future of state aid in regards to school funding, fiscal matters pertaining to future projects and scenarios were the center of discussion at the Holton school board’s regular February meeting on Monday night.

Superintendent Dennis Stones spoke about the current financial landscape and presented a letter to the board he wrote to help illuminate the current situation for patrons of the school district. That letter can be found on Page 4A of this edition.

The initial discussion was in reaction to the Ways and Means Hearings dealing with school finance, which impacts the Holton school district in terms of allotments being taken out of the general fund. USD 336, it was decided, would have an allotment of $70,000 taken out of its current general fund.

With some confusion among politicians regarding how school budgets work, Stones clarified that the loss of the $70,000 from the general fund would indeed affect the local operating budget, since the LOB is 30 percent of the general operating budget.

In addition to that cut, Senate Bill 71 is still floating around the Legislature and could have a large impact on funding in schools and reduce the LOB even further, Stones said. If passed, SB 71 would amount to another almost $60,000 cut in state funding and that hit would directly affect the LOB.

If revenues in deficit continue to roll in, Stones said he predicts more cuts to the general fund by the end of the fiscal year (June 30) and there are several ways the state could enact that, from the switch to a “block grant” system for state aid that is being discussed to a move towards zero balance budgeting and state funding potentially being negatively affected by the amount of money in the rollover budget from the previous year.

In addition to the cuts already in effect, Stones noted the Holton school district currently ranks near the bottom of Kansas school systems in terms of assessed valuation per pupil. USD 336 is 162 out of 186 school districts in Kansas in AVPP.

Stones noted even if a change to block grants goes into effect while a new state aid system is worked out, that shouldn’t affect state aid funding values for two years, though that is presupposing any more cuts to the general fund.

While schools continue to take blame for financial setbacks in the state, Stones is working to keep everything in balance for USD 336, though he did note a worst-case scenario for the board on Monday, reminding members that if capital outlay funds run out that would force the district to dip into it’s contingency reserves. That reminder paints a fairly bleak picture of the current state aid situation for schools in Kansas.

Taking that dire situation into account, Stones and the board members cautiously broached the subject of repairs to the auditorium as the next summer project for the district.

Instead of opening the project up to bids, Stones suggested bringing a general contractor in to assess the situation and come up with a plan of action to present to the board.

“I think that we’ll get a better idea and a better job bringing a general contractor in here,” Stones said.

New flooring, heating, seating, etc. were all issues the board brought up when discussing renovations at the HHS auditorium. It was noted the auditorium needs new lighting and a new sound system at the least for next year.

Several board members questioned the possibility of community members getting involved whether through outright donations or purchasing old seats in order to help replace them, but no matter what is decided Stones noted expediency is key.

“We can’t start in the middle of July and be ready. That’s going to be really tough,” Stones said.

No immediate action was taken regarding the matter at Monday’s meeting. Other items that were addressed by the board, though, included:

*Approved the consent agenda items including payment of bills ($1,061,347.87), payroll ($1,032,202.85) and donations from Jim and Mary Lou Birkbeck ($200) and Matt and Paula Taylor ($100) for the HHS drama club, along with a donation from the Mat Cats ($1,179.74) for wrestling warm-up gear.

*Approved the resignations of Kelsey Tanking (asst. secretary Colorado), Kathleen Wesley (Para Colorado), Patricia Engelgken (SPED para Axtell) and Marie Mulenga (food service).

*Approved the hires of Christina Adam (Para Central), Christian Slay (SPED para RV), Terri Clancy (ACE para), Jennifer Paxton (SPED autism specialist), Mary Bowser (ACE para), Dawn Pence (asst. secretary Colorado), Amanda Chiles (Para Colorado) and Kaylee Mick (asst. softball coach HHS).

*Accepted the resignation of Marty Williams (Title I developmental reading Colorado).

*Heard an update on the new elementary school building from Stones, noting the pre-bid meeting was to take place Tuesday and that David Lassiter would be the new field manager on the project for Nabholz due to the previous manager’s other current project running longer than scheduled.

Stones also noted the district closed on the fair building this past Friday and any extracurricular activities taking place there have already been cleared. Nabholz’s workers will move in early in March, with demolition on the expansion site set to begin sometime between March 2 and March 14.

Prior to that, Nabholz will open bids in late February, qualify those bids and then present them to the board at a special meeting board members approved for March 2 at 6 p.m.

*Reviewed some information that transportation director Joe Kelly presented in regards to handling bus rental requests. Kelly came up with a formula to calculate rates that takes into account cost per mile ($1.22) fuel cost (currently $1.82/gallon) and the cost for the driver.

Kelly did note the possibility of drivers volunteering their time and pointed out the policy already in place for the board to rent out buses at its discretion, so the board members approved the adoption of Kelly’s cost formula into the current policy.

*Approved contracts with Century Link ($19,957) and Kansas Gas Service ($12,221) for services pertaining to the new elementary building.

*Approved an increase of district Internet bandwidth from 80 megabytes to 100 megabytes. With E-Rate, that would mean a yearly increase in cost of $1,782.

*Approved the 2015-2016 school calendar option that included a sequential (Monday through Friday) two-week Christmas break and the same amount of student (174) and teacher (184) days.

*Discussed the current facilities use policy and some issues about consistent handling of cases were raised at the meeting.

“I just think we have to be fair to everyone who wants to use our facilities,” board member Cindy Stavropoulos said.

There were questions raised regarding insurance requirements of single individuals using the walking track at HHS versus groups using the gym and while no action was taking on Monday night, Stones noted the board should aim on having a plan in place by July 1, 2015.

*Approved the purchase of a drain-cleaning machine from FEI Topeka at a cost of $1,905.97.

*Passed a resolution supporting the current board election policy.

*Approved the 2015 driver’s ed fees, which will remain the same as the 2014 fees.

*Met in executive session for 15 minutes to discuss teacher salary negotiations.

*Met in executive session for a total of 20 minutes (15 minutes with HMS principal Michael Kimberlin) to discuss matters pertaining to non-elected personnel.

*Noted the presence of all board members.

*Adjourned meeting at 8:41 p.m.

The Holton Recorder

109 W. Fourth St.
Holton, KS 66436
Phone: 785-364-3141
 

Sign Up For Breaking News

Stay informed on our latest news!

Manage my subscriptions

Subscribe to Greer Citizen newsletter feed