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Lenoir City BOE approves budget
Parker Wright news-herald.net Lenoir City Board of Education during a special called meeting May 28 approved its budget for the fiscal year 2020-21. Board members Matthew Coleman and Glenn McNish motioned and seconded, respectively, to approve the proposed budget, which passed 3-0. Board members Mitch Ledbetter and Bobby Johnson Sr., were absent. Jeanie Mowery, Lenoir City Schools business manager, noted changes in revenue for the 2020-21 year. Public Entity Partners, the insurance firm responsible for liability and workers’ compensation, is going to issue a “relief dividend” of $14,733 in July.
Based on May numbers, Mowery also estimated a $14,000 increase
in Basic Education Program funding from the state. These numbers
brought the total revenue change to a positive $28,733.
Lenoir City Director of
Schools Jeanne Barker’s recommendations for the budget
included a 1 percent salary increase across the board at a
cost of $148,873. However, the 1 percent salary increase was
cut after Gov. Bill Lee cut the state’s 2 percent salary
increase for education.
“(The increase) is
flow-through money,” Barker said. “That comes from the state
to districts. That’s never enough. Whatever they give us,
they say it’s 2 percent or 3 percent, that’s never enough
because we pay above the minimum state requirement. So for
us, that translated to a 1 percent, but that money was cut
from the state.”
Barker said she hopes to look
at a 1 percent bonus in December to come out of reserve
funds.
There are also three new
full-time positions and two part-time positions at a cost of
$207,591 because the “district has grown,” Barker said.
Online course stipends
totaling $7,075 were included in the budget because the
district gained a new online learning program.
“We’ve added paving the
parking lot at the high school and a mower for the athletic
fields,” Barker said. “We’ve included an electronic, digital
sign at the high school for information. … We need something
that’s going to be a communication tool for us.”
The budget includes large
fans for the Lenoir City High School gym and two school
buses as well as a roofing project for Lenoir City High
School.
Total expenses from recurring
funding for programs, materials and equipment are $297,399.
Staff development is $3,158. Facilities needs amount to
$110,746. Total capital outlay for parking lot paving, an
electronic sign and a mower is $202,000.
Although the board
approved the budget as recommended, Barker said it is
subject to amendments.
“With our general purpose
fund now, with our projected revenues, with our
projected expenditures, we’re returning $329,446 to the
fund balance in this current year, and that will make
our ending fund balance $6,692,320,” Mowery said. “For
next year, with our change in revenue and expenditures,
we’ll be using $416,410 from the fund balance for
one-time costs only.”
Expenses from fund
balance total $416,474 and will be used for items such
as baseball field nets, a restriping machine for school
parking lots, technology, gym fans, school buses and a
roofing project.
Lenoir City Council on
Monday approved first reading of the school district’s
budget.
Amendments for the
2019-20 budget were also discussed.
Mowery said because
sports practices are starting earlier in the year,
federal regulations require the district also start
providing special education services, so more money will
need to be added to the 2019-20 budget.
There was also a painting
contract with Lenoir City Elementary School that was
incorrectly removed from the budget due to confusion and
needed to be put back in.
The total for all changes
to the budget was $22,560.
McNish and Coleman
motioned and seconded, respectively, to approve the
amendments, which passed 3-0.
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6/15/20