NP board considers budget details

BAINBRIDGE -- Following suite with other school systems in an annual ritual, the North Putnam School Board held its pubic hearing on the budget for next year.

In her presentation, treasurer Tanya Pearson began that North Putnam had seen a drop in student enrollment by about 20. She added that this, per calculating the average daily membership (ADM), meant less money from the state.

Pearson crunched the budget total for 2020 to be a little over $20 million, with a tax rate of just under a dollar-and-a-half. Both the budget and the tax rate got an increase, much of which takes into account the ongoing corporation-wide renovation project.

Pearson said the corporation would make an effort to not transfer more than 15 percent of funds from the education fund to the operations fund. This means putting more money toward general capital projects such as building repairs.

With no comments from the audience, the board is expected to approve the budget next month.

Board members also approved a recommendation to approve the bus replacement plan and the capital projects plan for 2020. Both were passed apart from the actual budget.

Director of Operations Terry Tippin elaborated that three buses were planned to be purchased to replace ones which were either damaged or outdated.

The plan was adopted Thursday so that the school corporation could lock in 2019 bus prices before new prices come next month. According to Tippin, doing so will save about $4,000 on each bus.

The last item the board considered was approving a request by Superintendent Nicole Singer for permission to advertise a food service agreement.

Singer said a debt of $80,000 had been accrued after North Putnam’s food service had been recently put in the hands of a management company.

It was determined that the management company had not been responsible with setting food prices in order to turn a greater profit on their part. Singer invoked one instance where three months’ worth of bills had been received after a food budget had been approved.

It must be noted that these debts, according to Singer, are covered out of the corporation’s operations fund.

While it was agreed that “deficiencies” were still present, the question of whether food service employees would be hired by the management company and not by North Putnam.

Board President Ron Spencer was concerned that the corporation would not be able to take care of employees when it came to benefits and pay. He said this element was “hardest to stomach,” but understood that a change was needed.

Singer said food service employees hired by the management company could be guaranteed consistent pay with those hired by North Putnam.

In his monthly report, Matt Griffey of Shambaugh & Son said renovations have slowed down slightly at North Putnam High School. However, he added that a new playground had been installed at Bainbridge Elementary School, and the roof repair at Roachdale Elementary School was almost complete.

The board, with a large crowd of colleagues, friends and family, also recognized second-grade teacher Laurie Hensley from Bainbridge Elementary as North Putnam’s Teacher of the Month.

Russell Township Representative Darrell Wiatt was the only board member absent.

The next regular meeting of the North Putnam School Board is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. in the North Putnam Schools Administration Office in Bainbridge.