The Cardngton-Lincoln Board of Education has confronted its state deemed status of “fiscal caution” by approving a reduction in force resolution for the district.
“We’ve been working on a cash flow statement each month to monitor our progress through the rest of the year- through June,” Cardington-Lincoln Treasuer treasurer Jon Mason said while giving his financial report during February’s meeting. “January had some good points to it but there are two months in the year when we have three pays – January was one of those-if you remove the third pay, it would have been a two month pay we would have been a break even month but as it turns out it, was a minus $276,000 month. The good side is that our income tax collection for the quarter – we had plugged in $115,000 for January but it came in at $146,000, We also received a letter from Ohio Department of Medicaid noting they had settled the fiscal 2012 Medicaid audit and we will receive another $35,000 from that. There’s still a lot of work to be done- but there were two bright spots. Looking at our cash flow, we are still in that minus for the year. We have reductions in front of us tonight and they are not reflected in this cash flow.”
Referencing the Fiscal Year 2016 Cost Recovery Plan and Reduction in Force resolution, Cardington-Lincoln Superintendent Brian Petrie commented that with the reductions “We want to utilize the staff we have in the most efficient way possible.”
He said the e-mail system has been switched, which will save the district $4,000. Petrie said he wants to assure the public that the philosophy going into this is “we are going to try to impact instruction – for instance – are we going to keep art?” “The plan is to keep art according to efficiency and class size.”
The board approved the RIF, which eliminated two aides and one custodial position effective Feb. 16 and one custodial position effective March 9. The RIF resolution approval modified seven aide positions and one pre-school aide position. Also approved was a Voluntary Step Freeze and 0 percent pay increase for admininstrative staff members for FY 17 effective Aug. 1, 2016-July 31, 2017.
As part of the RIF Resolution, transfers with new contract terms were approved for two employees. Also approved was the retirement resignation of bus driver Phil Biederman, effective Jan. 31.
Additionally, Petrie was awarded renewal of his contract for three years, effective August 1, 2016 to July 31, 2019. The vote was 3-2 with board members Vicki Kerman and Marilyn Davis opposing.
Referencing the district’s current financial situation, Kerman commented “We are currently in the process of finalizing a cost recovery plan which is due by Mid-March to the Ohio Department of Education for their approval. At the same time, by law, we are required to notify Mr Petrie by March 1 of the terms of the new contract. The proposed duration of the contract is for three years. As as board member responsible for insuring the fiscal solvency of the district, I find it simply not prudent to be entering into such a long term commitment without first having finalized the district’s overall financial plan for the current and ensuing years. This in no way reflects on Mr Petrie who is dedicated to the financial reality which we currently face.”
The board also approved naming the high school baseball field “The Bill Clauss Baseball Field.”
The school district anticipates $400,000 of deficit spending during the 2016 fiscal calendar year.
