Tuesday, April 23, 2024
The Cascade School board approved a resolution to adopt the 2019-2020 budget at its July 15 meeting.
The estimated expenditures for the General Fund for the year is set at $19.1 million and the Associated Student Body (ASB) Fund is projected to be $284,625. The Debt Service Fund is set at $4.53 million while the district’s Capital Projects Fund is estimated at $4.25 million. Expenditures for the Transportation Vehicle Fund is set at $225,000.
During the budget hearing, Public Hearing Executive Director of Finance and Operations Dwight Remick explained that benefits are higher than staff anticipated, which affected the General Fund. Remick said he went through and "fine-tuned" areas in the General Fund, one being enrollment projections. After adjusting the numbers, he noted the final budget has 16 full-time equivalent (FTE) students above projections, but the number is still down 60 FTE students from the previous year.
Remick noted the district received $50,960 from the state and indication that is the funding will continue to come to CSD. He added enrollment changed in special education, bi-lingual and highly capable, and mostly in basic education, which is where the additional funds came from.
When asked about how much money the district will receive from the state, Remick answered CSD is expected to receive three dollar amounts throughout the year. From September to December, the district will receive $931 per FTE, and CSD will get around $970 for December to January. Beginning in January the number will increase to $1,151 per FTE. The district’s portion of the increase is at least $200,000.
“That’s something once I get a chance to actually go through the budget document, I'll revise it with the information," he added. "I just haven’t had time to dig through it and ask, ’Where are our changes?’”
For capital projects, Remick said the district is still holding around $400,000 on Alpine Lakes Elementary School and will pay the contractor when they complete the punch list. The district also has about $400,000 left on the main contract for the high school, and has set aside $700,000 for the CTE (career-to-education) remodel. Staff has been pricing items and will draft a change order to developing a wish list, which includes remodeling the classroom and bathroom and replacing the switch gear.
“As far as we can go with the $700,000 cushion is what we'll be getting back to you with the change order," Remick added.
The district will also make a $800,000 loan payment for work at Peshastin-Dryden Elementary School. Remick explained the funds from the sale of the Beaver Valley project will go to the capital improvements fund and transfer $218,754 from capital projects to the Debt Service Fund and pay off the loan.
As for ASB Funds, Remick said students do not have revenue between May and August. Students are paying off uniforms and graduation during the summer, which is why the balance drops.
Remick also went over the indirects that are not reported on the budget but are allowed. He noted the district is either overspending in some areas and staff knows it but they have to support the programs, or they have indirects they will collect on at a later date.
Remick added that the North Central Educational Service District (NCESD) will need to review the budget numbers. NCESD would normally review the budget before it went to the school board, however district staff moved to a new accounting code structure, which caused the system to go down on Friday, leading to the budget document to being printed minutes prior to the hearing. He also anticipated that NCESD would not make any changes to the budget.
"If they find something I miss, or they find extra money for me, I will still work within those limits," Remick added.
In other action items, the board approved the hiring of Lori Duncan and Fred Chadwick as bus drivers for the district. They also approved employing Ellen Walker-Wood as a Peshastin-Dryden Elementary School kindergarten teacher, and accepted the resignation of Icicle River Middle School eighth-grade volleyball coach Hilary Osborn.
The board approved the first reading of Policy and Procedure 5231 "Length of Day.” Superintendent Dr. Tracey Beckendorf-Edou explained the policy features guidelines for staff who have additional employment outside of the school district.
“They understand very clearly of what the perimeters are and they would know how to set that up in a way that would set them up for success,” Beckendorf-Edou added.
During the Icicle River Middle School soccer discussion Beckendorf-Edou said she listened to a presentation regarding the matter and found it to be compelling, especially in regards to the student need and request for the program. She discussed the matter with Remick and Athletic Director Dominique Coffin, who she said was on board to bringing school at the middle school. Establishing a soccer program at IRMS would make Cascade the first district in the Caribou Trail League to offer soccer in the middle school level.
Beckendorf-Edou said her belief was that last year was a "field audit year," and the district did not have enough field space to support multiple soccer programs. She believes the district have the field space to support a middle school soccer program but wants to take a planned approach to developing a sustainable IRMS soccer program rather than just rolling it out right away. She added that 2019-2020 would be a planning year for the program with potential rollout in 2021.
While the district has field space, Beckendorf-Edou said does not recommend launching the program in the fall of 2019 as field space is already reserved and schedules are planned She also did not want to offer it in beginning in the spring because it would deny the girls, who play soccer in the fall, a chance to play during the program's first year. Another one of her concerns is if the district’s enrollment continues to decline.
She also brought up the possibility of partnering with Cashmere for field space in an effort to reduce traveling costs, as well as having an opponent to play during the season.
“I think it’s better to take a year, get our ducks in a row and start in 2021,” Beckendorf-Edou added.
Board member Brenda Biebesheimer also clarified that Cascade and Cashmere would not form a co-op team if the program is launched. The board came to a consensus to have Beckendorf-Edou and staff to develop a plan for IRMS soccer and provide updates during the process.
In the final action item of the evening, the board voted 4-0 to accept the resignation of board member Carrie Sorensen, who submitted her resignation, effective Sept. 30.
Sorensen’s board position is not up for election until 2021. The board would interview a replacement in a public meeting process to select her replacement.
In other business:
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