Cloverdale School Board considers 2021 budget proposal

CLOVERDALE -- Even with the uncertainty surrounding the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, the time has come when school administration look to finances for the next year.

Foregoing a PowerPoint presentation due to power outages during the Cloverdale School Board’s regular meeting Monday evening, Superintendent Greg Linton gave a rundown of where Cloverdale Schools may stand with its budget in 2021.

The first element of note is CCSC’s average daily membership (ADM), which determines how much education funding is provided by the state to public school systems. Since the 2005-06 school year, Cloverdale Schools has seen an overall decrease of 331 students.

However, the school corporation’s beginning cash balances might be starting an upward trend. The balance for the 2020 school year stands at $1,093,182, a difference of just over $455,300 from 2019. After steady decreases since 2014, Linton said the budget was now “moving in the right direction.”

The budget has been formulated on a set of assumptions for how finances will look. ADM will probably decrease by 30 students at Cloverdale during this year, with no new certified positions to be paid out of the education fund.

On Wednesday, Gov. Eric Holcomb proposed the count date for ADM be moved back from September to at least December in hopes that as many students as possible would have returned to in-person learning.

Additionally for Cloverdale, it is believed utilities and property/casualty insurance will continue to increase.

While the education and pension debt funds will not have advertised tax rates, the other funds will. Debt service will see an approximate 90-cent rate, with the operations fund having a rounded rate of $1.19. The rainy day fund would be appropriated $1 million.

Linton emphasized that the budget was being built 18 months in advance. The final budget will be mainly determined by the local tax rates approved by the Department of Local Government and Finance (DLGF), as well as the funding from ADM. Excise and property taxes also figure into the funding.

The total tax rate and levy being proposed is $2.08 and $4,379,890, respectively. However, Linton stipulated that the tax rate was being advertised higher than what would likely be finalized.

The board approved the proposed budget being advertised. However, Linton said that Gateway -- where it would be available online -- was not working. As such, this will affect how it is published otherwise.

The board is set to hold a public hearing on the budget on Monday, Aug. 24. Its tentative adoption of the budget will come during its regular meeting next month.

In other business:

• The board approved resolutions moving forward with upcoming HVAC and electrical renovations throughout the school corporation. The whole project will amount to $4.1 million, with the understanding that the school corporation was paying off debt as the county tax rate has come down.

“When we’re ordering parts off of eBay when they don’t make them anymore, then it’s time to make changes,” Board President Vivian Whitaker said of the project.

• The board approved a memorandum of understanding with the Town of Cloverdale concerning CCSC’s use of a student resource officer.

• The board approved an update to CCSC’s e-learning policy. Linton said that procedures for inclement weather did not change. However, the policy now addresses how to handle situations like the closures that occurred in March.

The board also approved the following personnel report:

• Resignations: Elizabeth Ornduff - CES/CMS/CHS choir teacher; Jessica Fulkerson - CES instructional assistant; Rhonda Trueblood - CES/CMS head cook; Misti Lester - CES instructional assistant; Jessica Herbert - CES instructional assistant; Sherry Flory - Bus driver; Isabella Hess - CHS instructional assistant; and Annie Hassler - CES/CMS cafeteria;

• Retirement: Cindy Anderson - CES/CMS cafeteria;

• Employment: Adrian Martin - CES/CMS/CHS choir teacher; Charles Monds - bus driver; Kathy Moore - Knoy Resource Center teacher; Kaileigh Sparks - CES instructional assistant; Emily Stattner - CES instructional assistant; Katherine “Renee” Doll - CES instructional assistant; Gabrielle Hardy - CES instructional assistant; Lil Turner - part-time CMS custodian; and Gary Fraizer - part-time CES/CMS/CHS custodian;

• Coaching hires: Karl Turk and Susan Fidler - CMS athletic director/supervisor; Tara Baugh - CMS cheer coach; and Patrick Rady, Andy Tyler and Kyle Walter - CHS weight room.

• Volunteer: Zach Waycott: volunteer assistant CHS cross country coach.

The next regular meeting of the Cloverdale School Board is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. in the Arthur L. Johnson Administration Office near Cloverdale High School.