FREDERICKTOWN – During the prayer before Tuesday night’s Fredericktown Board of Education meeting, board president Charles Streby expressed gratitude for the rain that had washed through the village that evening.
And after the prayer, treasurer Heather Darnold made note of another blessing within the district – another year in the green.
“We’re in a very healthy spot to be able to do some of the things the district wants to do,” said Darnold, who summarized the 2018 fiscal year during the meeting.
Darnold reported that Fredericktown Local Schools’ revenue exceeded its expenditures in the 2018 fiscal year by “about $900,000,” which is “where we wanted to be.”
She then compared the year-end cash balance in 2012, which was $2.4 million, to that of 2018, which was $7.1 million.
This increase is due to a recent spike in property taxes and open enrollment within the district, among many other factors, Darnold said.
Thirteen percent of the district’s enrollment now comes from open enrollment, which provides the district with $800,000 each year. All of that money goes toward the district’s general fund.
Darnold said the majority of Fredericktown’s open enrollment students come from Clear Fork, although some have come from Mount Vernon as well.
Two years ago, Fredericktown began to qualify for capacity aid funding from the state. This funding bridges the gap for the village from a tax revenue basis, allowing the district to earn funding based on its financial standing.
“Because we’re in a rural, poverty-driven community, one mill doesn’t generate enough revenue (in comparison to) what one mill for the federal limit generates,” Darnold told Knox Pages. “So they take the difference and we get that difference.”
The district receives almost $350,000 per year from capacity aid funding, Darnold said. It also receives additional state funding based on “economic disadvantage.”
The school board shared Darnold’s excitement on Tuesday, as she noted that the district’s revenue totals increased alongside its expenditures.
“The expenditures, as you may have expected they increased as well, but we have maintained a very solid and healthy balance,” Darnold said. “Our remaining balance has increased considerably, actually a little over 60 percent it’s increased from 2012.”
In forecasting for the 2019 fiscal year, Darnold said that there will likely be various “one-time” expenditures that will drive the district’s spending total higher than the year before. The district will be repaving and adding new LED lighting in the Administration Building parking lot while also implementing improved security features at the school.
The district will be adding a button near school doors that signals a dispatch system, where staff will then ask the visitor who they wish to see before given access inside the building. This is an addition to the school’s previous buzzer system.
The administration building will also be re-keyed as a security measure.
One “saving grace” for the 2019 fiscal year, as Darnold put it, will be that the district will not have a premium increase for medical insurance, which “was a very wonderful thing that we could do for our staff for this upcoming year.”
The district will also receive $11,000 more in Title IV-A grant money (it was less than $10,000 last year and is expected to be over $21,000 in 2019) to be used for professional development at the school.
“It’s not specific as to whether it’s middle, high or elementary,” Darnold said. “So I think it’s great that we got an additional $11,000 from FY18.”
Resurfacing parking lot
The board approved a $125,000 bid for the resurfacing of the Administration Building parking lot on Tuesday, which superintendent Matt Chrispin said will pay for “the scope of the work.”
Dura-Seal will mill down the entire parking lot and repave it. They will also add an additional row of eight or nine parking spots up front for handicapped drivers and preschool pick-ups.
“We’ve had increased numbers for the senior activity center and the preschool, it’s dominating the parking. So having additional handicapped spots out front as well as additional parking for preschool will be very helpful,” Chrispin said. “It’s been a concern or something on our backburner for a while, especially when we moved preschool to down here.”
There will also be patchwork done to the school’s parking lot, filling in cracks and potholes before the upcoming school year starts. Board member Patty Miller suggested that the superintendent look into repainting the lines on the parking lot as well, and Chrispin said that he would add it to his list.
Legislation of note
Near the conclusion of Tuesday’s meeting, Miller informed the board of some pending state legislation that could affect the district.
She discussed House Bill 318, which has been sent to Governor John Kasich. The bill appropriates $12 million in state funding for the training of school resource officers. It also funds a study by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission on the effectiveness of SRO services and security upgrades for buildings.
“If they let go of some money, that would be a good thing for us, in terms of some of the upgrades security-wise that we are thinking about doing,” Miller said.
The bill also appropriates $2 million for Senate Bill 246, which funds intervention support – social and emotional learning initiatives for pre-k through third grade students.
“So be looking for some of that (funding),” Miller said. “I know it always comes in strings, but if we can get something to enhance our social work pieces and those kinds of things, that would be helpful.”
Miller also discussed House Bill 708, which was recently introduced. The bill would prohibit retired employees from receiving pension allowances if they were to come back and continue teaching during retirement.
“It effectively dismissed double-dipping,” Miller said. “I think somebody woke up to what’s been going on, and I just think that’s hilarious. It only took how many years…”
She also mentioned the introduction of two bills with identical intentions – House Bill 713 and Senate Bill 314. The bills would require public schools to employ school psychologists and intervention specialists, which the district already does.
However, it would also require students to undergo annual mental health assessments and require public schools to adopt an in-service training curriculum in social/emotional development and trauma-informed care.
“This one has my hair a little bit on fire because I’m just not sure about it,” said Miller, who worried about the liability aspect of this scenario.
“I have no issue with the training for trauma-informed care and social/emotional issues. But when you start messing around with identifying or testing or assessing them, and then prescribing some kind of curriculum, what if it doesn’t work? Who’s liable?” Miller asked.
“I mean, I just have all kinds of questions about this. I think it’s probably well-intentioned because we do need trauma care and professional development. But this thing, I hope it never goes anywhere. It worries me a lot.”
