Jan 28, 2014 5 min read

JEFFERSON – Jefferson-Morgan School Board voted Monday to approve a preliminary 2014-15 budget, anticipating the possible need to increase taxes this year in excess of the inflationary index established by the Taxpayers Relief Act.

The board approved a tentative budget of $12,596,788, an amount that represents about a 3 percent increase in spending compared to the current fiscal year budget.

The increase in the tax rate that would be needed to fund the proposed budget was not given Monday; business manager Jennifer Foringer was absent from the meeting because of illness.

Cindy Jento, chairman of the budget committee, said the board is taking the steps it must take under the act to raise taxes in excess of the inflationary index should it determine that is necessary.

“We just want to make sure all our options are open,” Jento said.

The board is expecting to see a large increase in the amount it must contribute for employee retirement benefits as well as an increase in employee salaries, she said. It also is considering renovations to the middle-senior high school.

In order for the district to increase taxes in excess of the index it is required by the act to approve a tentative budget in January and either receive an exception from the state Department of Education or have the tax increase approved in a voter referendum.

Exceptions are only granted to districts facing additional costs as a result of retirement contributions, special education expenditures or to cover debt for school construction incurred prior to 2006, the date of the law.

Superintendent Donna Furnier said the district intends to apply for the exception for retirement contributions. She noted the district’s contributions to the state’s school retirement program are expected to increase about 4.9 percent next year.

In addition, the district is expected to see an increase in spending for salaries because of a “bump step” in the current teachers’ contract, she said.

Administrators earlier estimated that if the district were to increase taxes to what is allowed by the index it would only be able to raise an additional $90,000 in revenue.

Jento noted the board has a number of months to work with the budget and many factors are still uncertain. The district, for instance, has no idea how much it will receive in state funding for next year; nor does it know how much it might have to pay for employee health insurance premiums.

The board also is considering renovations to the middle-senior high school. It is currently waiting to receive a feasibility study being conducted by architect Valentour, English, Bodnar and Howell.

The board recently moved ahead with part of the project by spending $217,631 to replace the roofs over the auditorium and gymnasium, work the board determined could not wait because of the poor conditions of the roofs.

In other business, the board received an audit for the year ending June 30, 2013. Auditor Charles Rupert reported the district received a good “unqualified” opinion; the audit indicated no instances of noncompliance with accounting regulations or deficiencies in internal controls.

The district ended the fiscal year with a $1.8 million fund balance, of which $897,000 was unassigned and available for the district’s use. During the year, the fund balance had increased by about $473,000, which Furnier said later resulted from the district not filling several position and lower costs due to last year’s warm winter.

The district’s unassigned balance represents about 7.3 percent of its operating budget, Rupert said. Districts, generally, should have a fund balance of between 5 and 15 percent.

However, smaller districts like Jefferson-Morgan should have fund balances on the higher end of that range. Rupert recommended the district work to increase its fund balance.

Cafeteria manager Sherry Kottke reported she is investigating a food backpack program in the district. Under the program, students identified as being in need would be offered a backpack of food on Friday to help feed them during the weekend.

The names of the students who would receive the backpacks would remain confidential, she said. Other districts in the county now have the program, which is funded partially by the Greene County Community Foundation.

The board accepted the resignation of Billie Jo Balazick, personal care aide, who retired Dec. 20. Board member Debbie Phillips said Balazick has been a big “asset” to the district and has touched the lives of many students.

The board hired Mark Thistlethwaite and Cindy Orndoff as personal care aides.

The board accepted a donation of $3,500 from the softball and baseball boosters for the purchase of new score boards for the baseball and softball fields. It voted to purchase the scoreboards at a cost of $5,686.90.

The board thanked the boosters. Board member Bob Mitchell also recognized and thanked the elementary school Parent Teacher Organization for the work it has done in the school.

The board approved the private sale by the county Tax Claim Bureau of property at 16 West South Circle Street in Mather. The property was sold for $100. Board members noted the sale would return the property to the tax rolls.