Snowflake School Board Approves Budget Revision

“At the beginning (of the school year) there are estimates and at the end of the year we pretty much have it locked down,” Ollerton explained. He noted that they generally receive growth figures from the state in April and are able to make budget revisions so that they can use some of the unrestricted capital by moving it to the maintenance and operations side of the budget.

This year they were able to move $642,428. “This is the first time we had a budget living on M&O solely and we’re not subsidizing any means,” said Ollerton.

He explained that Group B Weights is a part of a finance formula, which allows for additional funds to be calculated for students with special needs because it costs more to meet the criteria of educating those students due to the need for aides and so forth.

“The state didn’t have enough money to pay all they are suppose to based on formula funding for schools on State Aid Funding,” said Ollerton. “Eighty percent of our funding is state aid.”

The state directed the district to cut its budget by $373,000, but the district didn’t find that out until April 27.

“They (state officials) recommended we just don’t spend as much,” said Ollerton. “We foresaw this coming, but didn’t think it would be that much. Neither did the State.”

“Schools like us that depend on state aid took a bigger cut than most schools,” said Superintendent Hollis Merrell.

Ollerton said they would manage by not spending all the budget capacity, and by using reserves they have in the budget and mechanisms such as prepaid medical insurance, they can meet the budget reduction.

“Overall…we’re down $300,000 due to restricted capital,” said Ollerton.

The beginning unrestricted capital budget balance was $1,575,270. Year to date expenses are $447,685.18 and encumbered expenses are $82,216.02 for a total of $529,901.20, leaving the current budget balance at $1,045,368.80. Projected expenses total $700,633. and include repair of the high school gym roof, $195,295; Technology Refresh, 422,338; School Bus Minotour, $73,000; and Beyond Textbooks, $10,000; leaving an estimated budget balance of $344,735.80. The district will get what Ollerton referred to as “an infusion” of $300,000 next year.

The board approved the purchase of the Minotour school bus at its April meeting, and approved the other items during its regular session May 12.

The board approved Technology Refresh, which will replace the thin-client technology that the district has used for 10 years, but which is now obsolete.

Information Technology Director Jordy Fuentes explained the cost savings of this program, and the fact that they would save money by paying for it all at once. “Without technology we can’t function as a district,” said Fuentes.

The Beyond Textbooks program intergovernmental agreement between the Snowflake School District and the Vail School District was also approved.

“This is something we’re quite excited about,” said Merrell, explaining that it concerns curriculum, consistency throughout the district and provides updates to standards, which will keep the district current with changes throughout the state.

The last item approved for funding with unrestricted capital is the repair to the Snowflake High School gym roof.

Maintenance Supervisor Dan La Grange explained to the board that at this point they have had no damage to the wood floor in the gym, but there are leaks in the building and it is a matter of time before they have a leak on the wood floor. He said they are losing a lot of shingles in the wind. Le Grange explained that there was a two-year warranty period on the roof and they have spent thousands of dollars replacing shingles over the years and making repairs. He said he felt that the angle of the roof and the size of the building creates an increase in wind speed that goes over the gym. He suggested new shingles with a 15-year or 20-year warranty. The board unanimously approved the project using 20-year warranty shingles.

Also approved was the contract renewal for the fifth year with Southwest Food Services Excellence.

The Arizona Risk Retention Trust now requires a premium of $195,741, an increase from $181,391 for the previous fiscal year due to an increase in square footage. Eddie Hancock, who represents the risk pool, was on hand to answer questions and make comments.

The final year of a five-year contract with TBS Waste, which had not increased its prices for four years, was approved at a cost of $19,080 annually.

The board unanimously approved a request by staff to issue a multi-year request for proposals (RFP) for speech therapy, vision and occupational therapy services, and a single year RFP for mental health counseling. Ollerton explained that an RFP allows them the opportunity to look at certificates and service in a school district, not just the price of the service.

The 2010-2011 budget revision was unanimously approved as presented.

In other business, two fundraisers were approved for the girls’ soccer team. They are selling a new style of custom flip flops for 2012, with funds being used for summer camp in 2012, and the team will run a day camp to teach soccer skills with mini games using the funds for tournament travel costs in the fall of 2011.

Board member Cory Johnson said he really appreciated this fundraiser.

Out-of-state travel for the girls’ basketball team to attend the Adams State Basketball Camp scheduled June 20-24 in Alamosa, Colo., was approved with the team paying for the gas and using school vans.

Merrell explained that both the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams were going out of state because it was actually cheaper than in-state camps and all in-state camps included Sunday.

Out-of-state travel for the boys’ basketball team to attend the Dixie State Team Camp scheduled June 27-July 1 in St. George, Utah was approved. The cost will be $285 per student to pay for food and lodging, as well as the camp. The boys will pay $250 each, with the Basketball Club paying the balance and the cost of gas.

The board unanimously approved the alternative procedure for determining the performance pay portion of the superintendent’s annual compensation, with that procedure to be based on specific district goals and benchmarks developed jointly by the governing board and the superintendent.

The board went into executive session, and upon return to regular session, approved the terms of the superintendent’s contract.