Itasca School District #10
Itasca, IL 60143
SPECIAL BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING MINUTES
April 16, 2007
The purpose of the special Board of Education meeting was to review the proposed FY 2008 tentative budget.
I. Call to order, roll call, and Pledge of Allegiance – The meeting was called to order at 6:10 p.m. by President Patrick Powers with the following ROLL CALL:
PRESENT ABSENT
Mr. Patrick Powers Mr. McCann
Mrs. Nancy DiCiolla Mrs. Zelenka
Mrs. Maureen McDonald
Ms. Debbi Pawinski
Mr. Maier
Also present:
Dr. Kenneth Cull, Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Reinhard Nickisch, Principal, F.E. Peacock Middle School
Dr. Joanna Medwick, Principal, Elmer H. Franzen Intermediate School
Dr. Dawn Turner, Principal, Raymond Benson Primary School
Dr. Marcia Tornatore, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
Mr. Charles Kapachinski, Director of Technology
Ms. Debora Mitsui, Recorder
Interested members of the staff and community
President Powers led everyone present in the Pledge of Allegiance. He welcomed all visitors to the meeting.
II. Budget Workshop – Review of proposed FY2008 Tentative Budget - President Powers explained the purpose of this workshop is to go through the preliminary budget that the administrators and Dr. Cull have planned. Following an opportunity for the Board to ask questions and discuss the proposed budget, the audience will be welcomed to ask questions.
Superintendent Cull delivered an overview of the proposed budget for the benefit of the community. He is presenting a budget that has a deficit in the educational fund. The reason for the deficit is because of the cost of retirement incentives in the FY08 budget, which will also be anticipated in the FY09 budget. Due to the nature of our labor agreement that ends in August of 2008, the district may anticipate a number of staff members who will be eligible to retire.
The operations and maintenance fund also has a small deficit. This deficit was planned in order to draw on the built up interest left over from the Johnson Controls project.
The bond fund is a little higher than usual because of a capitalized interest payment on the new bond due in July 2007.
There are bond related projects that will be funded by transfer of working cash funds to cover expenses, specifically $75,000 in technology from the educational fund and $514,000 for various projects designated within the operations and maintenance fund.
President Powers reviewed the three options that Dr. Cull outlined in the packet that addressed the educational fund shortfall. Option one would be to ignore the shortfall and wait to see if our expenditures are less than the budgeted amount. For the past three years they have been less than budgeted. The second option would be to reallocate funds earned from the interest on the working cash funds. In FY08, if we had $4 million invested at 4.8% for a year, the interest earned would be over $190,000. The money is mostly renewable, available, and accessible without diminishing the working cash balance. Option three would be to cut expenses by way of freezing accounts. This might be a short-term solution for FY08 but we could not cut supplies again for the FY09 school year.
Dr. Cull's recommendation would be option number two. Board members Mr. Powers and Mrs. DiCiolla agree this would be a good option but only if it were for non-reoccurring expenses and not to be used for everyday operations.
Mr. Powers gave the Board an opportunity to discuss and ask questions about the budget.
Mr. Powers asked Dr. Cull if $190,000 would cover the early retirement incentives. Dr. Cull said that it should be more than enough to cover the known retirement incentives. Statistically, there are 11 teachers who could take advantage of the early retirement option. They must submit their intent in writing by March 2008. After March of 2009, the negotiation agreement will change regarding retirement incentives.
Page 1 - Revenues - Mrs. DiCiolla asked why zero funds are budgeted for Taxes/Liability for FY08. Dr. Cull explained that this line item is a restricted levy to pay for legal costs. We are able to levy legal costs through the educational fund without restriction.
Dr. Cull highlighted some of the other larger line items on page 1. The Teacher Retirement System (TRS) line item amount showing $603,000 in 2006, $500,000 in 2007 and $400,000 budgeted for 2008 must be allocated in our budget but the actual dollars never hit our books. Funds shown in the Special Education/I.D.E.A. are being distributed differently to us now than in the past. North DuPage Special Education Cooperative (NDSEC) keeps the IDEA grant funds. NDSEC uses a specific formula to distribute the funds to the schools. NDSEC bills us for monthly tuition. We send them a reimbursement form and NDSEC reimburses us for that amount.
Mrs. DiCiolla asked for clarification on two of the Perm/Trans/Interest Working Cash. line items. Account Code 10.7110 has $75,000 budgeted for FY08. Those funds will be used for technology infrastructure routers and to complete the phone system at Benson and Franzen. Account Code 40.7110 with $514,000 under operations and maintenance will be tracked through 4 specific accounts. Mrs. DiCiolla asked that each of the working cash line items to be specified as working cash "I" or working cash "II". The budget should also specify if we are transferring interest or principal.
Mrs. DiCiolla asked if we still receive something from the school safety grant. Dr. Cull said that the school safety grant used to be one of several small grants that we received. Now they are combined into one grant, listed as the ADA Block Grant. Dr. Tornatore is in charge of these grants.
Mr. Powers asked Dr. Cull if the Board could move onto the expense line item pages to review specific line items that the Board might have questions on.
Page 1 – Expenses - For salary accounts, Dr. Cull explained that they are impacted in two ways. (1) Lane changes occur when teachersÕ complete classes over the summer, thus their salary increases. (2) We may have budgeted $40,000 for a position, but hired someone at $48,000. This yearÕs figures will reflect the "catch up" amount. The general increase is about 4% from last year to this year.
Mrs. DiCiolla asked about line item Instructional/TA Extra Duty Salary for Benson. A comment on this line item read "error in 07". Dr. Cull said that it was for someone at Benson that was unaccounted for. Mrs. DiCiolla asked if he anticipated this to be a $30,000 salary. It was not. In FY06 it was $8,000.
Questions were raised regarding general supplies. Dr. Cull highlighted lines where there was a significant change. Items noted for Benson were walkie-talkies and chair pockets. For Peacock, two-way radios. The walkie-talkies for Benson were either broken or there werenÕt enough available for staff. At Peacock, they needed replacing. The walkie-talkies and radios are used every day for dismissal, busses, recess, etc. The chair-pockets are made of canvas. They fit over the back of a studentsÕ chair to hold supplies.
Mrs. DiCiolla commented on tuition reimbursement for teachers and thought that the amount available should be limited to our Consumer Price Index (CPI). Dr. Cull explained that it is a finite amount of money that is divided up at a fixed percentage increase. That number is rounded up in relation to last yearÕs budget. The funds are divided by how many teachers apply for reimbursement. In reality it is capped at the CPI.
Mr. Maier inquired if the district anticipates more expenses for instructional travel and meetings. Dr. Cull said that there had been a request from building teachers to allow more teachers to attend off-site workshops. Dr. Cull also noted that there is no differentiation between travel and meeting for workshops verses a traveling teacher driving between buildings. Staff mileage reimbursement is 48 ½ cents per mile.
Page 2 - Mrs. DiCiolla questioned the 5.38% increase for Middle School TA Extra Duty. She suggested keeping the increases at the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or at 4%. She asked what was budgeted for FY06. Dr. Cull explained that was the first year of that contract and that the teacherÕs association agreed to freeze all of their stipends. The actual amount of $116,235 was a little lower than it would have been. If there had been no freeze, it would have been closer to $130,000. At this time, 65% of the FY07 Middle School TA Extra Duty line item has been paid out. We will probably be below $130,000. It was decided that the FY08 Middle School TA Extra Duty line item be kept at a 4% increase.
Page 3 - Mrs. McDonald asked about the capital outlay line items for Peacock Middle School. Dr. Nickisch responded that the 'Baby Think It Over" dolls are older models no longer supported by the company so they are in need of replacing. The physical education department will be replacing some of their elliptical machines. We are also replacing and adding microphones for the music department. The Capital Outlay/Band line item decreased from last year. One of the purchases related in that line item is a play production. It had been outsourced at one point, however Mr. Bryen Travis will direct the play. Some of the costs related to the productions include rights to the play and costumes. About $8,000 is anticipated for the next production.
A question was asked about the salary decrease for the early childhood teacher. The difference is due to one teacher leaving and another being hired.
Page 6 - Mr. Powers asked for explanation on the ESL/State/Teacher line item. Dr. Cull said that they were scheduled salary increases. It may seem a bit high; the figure is rounded up. The numbers may look unbalanced, but one teacher divides her time between two buildings.
Mrs. DiCiolla asked about referee fees for interscholastic sports. Dr. Nickisch responded that referees are contracted. Tournament attendance increases our costs. Peacock has begun charging entrance fees for events. Also, students are charged a $20.00 interscholastic fee per sport per year.
Page 7 - Dr Cull commented on the support nurse salaries. There has been a request, based on need, by one of our support nurses to increase her work hours from 4 to 6. Increasing the hours would make this position eligible for benefits, so there will be some additional costs involved.
Mr. Powers asked about insurance benefits for the guidance counselor position at Peacock. Mrs. Susan West, who will be retiring in June, did not take health coverage. We will have to anticipate that whoever is hired as her replacement will want insurance benefits.
Page 8 – Dr. Nickisch requested that based on need, PeacockÕs social work hours be increased from 4/10Õs to 7/10Õs. The request is being asked based on the ratio of entering and currently enrolled students with individualized education programs (IEP). The primary role of the social worker is to service students with IEPÕs.
Page 9 – Mr. Powers asked about the media salary increase on line item 2220.112. Two of the three people went back to school, causing a lane change.
Mrs. DiCiolla asked about the increase for the Curriculum Secretary. Dr. Cull said that this position might have been under budgeted this year because there was no one hired at the time that the budget was being written.
Page 10 – Mr. Powers asked Dr. Cull to talk about the emergency hardware replacement line item and the anticipated need. Dr. Cull said his thoughts were that aging equipment begets the need for more emergency hardware equipment.
Mr. Maier questioned why the Tech Coordination Consultants line item went up 700%. Mr. Kapachinski replied, "We have a number of issues that we will need contract out to have help in resolving. We have a very complex environment and we do a very good job supporting it however, there are some aspects of our network that are far beyond our technology abilities." This consultant work will be contracted for 3 to 4 different projects, one of them being summer help.
A question was asked for clarification of Tech Coordinator/ Communication. Mr. Kapachinski said the account is used for subscription trade magazines and journals.
Page 11 – Mr. Powers asked Dr. Cull to speak about the Technology Plan. Dr. Cull said that some years will be more and some less. Dr. Cull is determining this expense as the cost of doing business. The $120,000 allocated for this fiscal year will not be quite enough to take care of the scheduled lifecycle; therefore, we will have to push some things into next year. For next yearÕs Technology Plan, we will need about $100,000 of the $120,000 for lifecycles leaving possibly $20,000-$30,000 for new technology. Three years from now, we will only need $80,000 for the lifecycle. We will try to stay within the $120,000 span.
Mrs. DiCiolla asked if there would be problems with upgrading desktop computers or software from year to year. Mr. Kapachinski responded that from a functioning standpoint everything is exactly the same. His philosophy is that our operating system and exact word processing package are all the same.
Page 12 – Mr. Maier asked for clarification for the Board/Purchased Services line item, "No Tech. Consultant". Dr. Cull explained that in FY07 we had used the service of Graphtec. This year we will not need their services.
Page 13 – Mrs. DiCiolla asked whose salaries were included in the Business Office/Salaries line item. Those salaries include Cindy Kuta, Bookkeeper, and Barb Parse, Personnel.
Page 14 – Increased dairy costs. Recently, there have been two increases in the cost per carton for milk. We were in a co-op with Lake Park feeder districts. There are few dairies in this area that offer service to small districts so we are at their mercy.
Mrs. DiCiolla expressed a concern with the NDSEC Tuition Assessment. For the past three years, this line item has gone over budget. Dr. Cull explained that over the past couple of years there have been a couple of significant changes affecting tuition assessment. In 2006, we employed a social worker through NDSEC at $80,000 a year. This year we hired our own social worker, so the expense is still there, it is just not coming out of this particular account. There are other examples of services that we had to provide one year but did not have to provide for the next. We have had some students that are no longer going to receive services that were an impact on this budget. $600,000 is what we are aware of right now. If someone moves in needing services, we will have to incur the cost.
Mrs. DiCiolla suggested the possibility of a contingency using a portion of the bond interest.
Dr. Cull explained that for the NDSEC fund, it would be an on-going expense. Adding a contingency to this particular line item would not be a good plan. Mr. Maier agreed, $600,000 should be kept as the hard number for this account.
Board members asked, if possible, that some funds be set a side in a separate contingency account. Funds in this account would only be available for non re-occurring unanticipated expenses.
Page 15 – Mr. Powers asked about Repairs and Maintenance with an increase of $10,000 for FY08. Dr. Cull said that air conditioning is needed for our server room at the district office. More equipment is being added causing the room to over heat. There is a ventilation system, but there is no actual cooling.
Mrs. DiCiolla commented on a line item, Administrative/Building/Service/Maintenance and itÕs relation to the Johnson Control HVAC maintenance agreement. Many times expenses are listed in the Board packet that are outside of the maintenance agreement. She asked if the agreement was useful. Dr. Medwick responded that Johnson Controls is thorough and always take care of any of the heated related problems. She is very happy and satisfied with their service.
Page 16 - Mrs. McDonald asked about increased expenses for Rental Maintenance. The district office used to have bottle water delivered. That service has been replaced by an installed water purification system.
Mrs. McDonald asked about the 100% increase for Custodial Overtime. Custodial overtime had not been tracked in the past. For 2007, Dr. Cull began tracking overtime separately. By mid-winter it looked as though we were going to be over the budgeted amount. Overtime accounts for more than just snow removal. During winter, they do walkthroughs over weekends to check for broken water pipes, power loss, etc.
Page 17 & 18 – There were no questions or comments. Dr. Cull noted that there is a salary committee meeting scheduled for May 2, 2007.
Page 19 – There were no questions or comments.
Dr. Cull reviewed his revised handouts regarding increase projections for revenue, salary, benefits and tuition.
Mrs. DiCiolla asked if Dr. Cull would be able to provide the Board with the data sheet (as in the past) with explanation of taxes, CPI, and new dollars. She thought it would be a useful tool for the new Board members. Dr. Cull said he would be providing them with the information.
The meeting was opened up to the audience for questions.
Mrs. Miller, newly elected Board of Education member, asked Dr. Cull what method he used to determine FY08 budget revenues from the FY07 total funds revenues. The figure budgeted for FY07 was $10,848,600. For the FY08 draft it is $11,022,321, showing an 8.3% increase. Dr. Cull explained that the difference is the transfer of bond money. Interest and principal earned from the bonds will be counted as revenue, which will be moved into the Permanent Transfer/Interest Working Cash line item accounts. With regard to tax dollars, that is 4.4%.
Mrs. DiCiolla asked Dr. Cull to restate the proposed Capital Outlay projects.
Franzen: $100,000 for playground equipment, $30,000 for roofs, $12,000 for sinks, $7,000 to paint lockers, and $2,500 to resurface the gym floor.
Benson: $60,000 for doors and locks, $9,000 for locker painting and 2,500 to redo the gym floor.
Peacock: $190,000 for a new rooftop heating unit, $40,000 for cabinets, and $36,000 for bathroom facility partitions.
District office: $25,000 in roof repair.
$75,000 is in the Educational Fund for 2 phone systems and some computer routers.
Mrs. DiCiolla asked that Dr. Cull keep the Board informed of details related to the bond issue.
Mrs. Lea Smith, Middle School teacher, inquired if the technology plan includes upgrading to a new operating system. She shared her concern that by the end of the year, Windows 2000 will no longer be supported. Newly purchased computers will have a different operating system. Mr. Kapachinski responded that we have a standardized environment, which is Windows 2000; "At this point, upgrading the operating system has not been taken into account." Next year, when we begin the technology steering committee, this will be one of the issues that we will be discussing. Windows 2000 is still supported; it is not supported under "mainstream." Mr. Kapachinski stated that even through Windows 2000 is not "mainstream" supported, Microsoft is still providing "critical" patches for it, which he stated was "security" oriented. Yes, we have Windows 2000, and it is not covered under mainstream support but that has not been an issue for us so far. It is a very expensive endeavor to upgrade an operating system. An approximate cost would be $20,000 to $25,000 to update all the operating systems and Office Suite will be another $25,000 to $30,000. A project of this magnitude will be very expensive and we will need to do some planning.
Mr. Kapachinski added that with the operating system upgrade, we will lose a lot of our educational software programs. They will not be able to run on XP or Vista. This loss will have a large impact Benson and Franzen. Mr. Kapachinski said he felt that, except for security, there would not be much benefit to upgrading the operating system. From a userÕs prospective, the upgrade will not be of much benefit. Office Suite is a different story; it will provide additional functionality.
Mrs. Smith added that some of her students were already experiencing difficulties working on home computers and transferring their work to school computers. Mr. Kapachinski replied that homework data needs to be saved to a compatible file version that we are using in the district. He will look into addressing this issue with the staff.
Mr. Powers asked for any further questions from the audience. There were none. The Board moved forward, giving Dr. Cull some direction on their recommendations. It was agreed that a version of the Option 2A draft would be best. Interest on the bond fund will be earmarked to fund the "one-time" retirement related payments. $100,000 in interest would be used as revenue leaving a $25,000 surplus. That surplus would then be designated as a contingency fund.
Dr. Cull reviewed the timing of approving the budget. Once the Board acts on a tentative budget, it is posted for a specific amount of time. It is then approved as a final budget and it is posted once more. Dr. Cull will provide Draft 2 the budget for the Board at the May 9th Board of Education Meeting. Board members will review Draft 2 of the budget during May. At the June meeting, Draft 2 with any changes will be presented as the "tentative" budget for passage. The Board will vote on the final FY08 Budget at the August Board of Education Meeting.
Mr. Powers thanked everyone for attending and commended Dr. Cull on providing such an exemplary summary.
III. Adjournment – President Powers adjourned the meeting at 8:15 p.m.
