Clinton County Board of Education held a special meeting Monday evening, September 15 in lieu of its regular session that had been cancelled a week earlier. All members were present for the unusually short, 15-minute session which saw the board approve tax rates for the upcoming fiscal year working budget–the last of three budgets presented to the board throughout a calendar year.

The board voted to set the tax levy at the following rates for the 2014-15 school year: 40.5 cents per $100 on real estate, 40.5 cents on personal property, .53 cents each on motor vehicle and watercraft and three percent utility tax.

The rate is the compensating, or four percent increase allowed by the state. Last year’s rate was 40 cents per $100 assessed value on real and personal property.

The board also approved the final working budget they will go by throughout the fiscal year, in the total amount of $13,63,285.00, about the same as last year.

The board had discussed both the tax rates and budget at a prior working session last week.

In other business, the board:

* Approved between meeting disbursements and voted to pay claims and bills.

* Approved the following leave of absences: family medical leave for Ruth Buster through October 27; family medical leave for Charlotte Stearns through September 9; family medical leave for Laura England through December 19; family medical leave for Jake Asberry through October 21; and a non-paid leave for Lisa Savage through October 1.

* Heard the monthly finance report from Finance Director Mike Reeves.

* Under personnel report, the following was announced: certified resignation-Darrell Thompson, head softball coach at CCHS; classified hired-Loretta Ridge, cook at AES; classified resignations-Barbara Thurman, bus driver and Donna Dalton, cook, CCMS; classified transfers-Barbara Thurman from AES cook to CCHS cook and Jeff Lee from CCHS custodian to CCMS cook; substitute teachers-Norma Craft, Kristie Moreland and Brenda Simpson and substitute assistance principal at the high school, Joan DeForest.

* Approved the state set Indirect Cost Report for the 2014-15 school year. The Non-Restricted Indirect rate is 10.11 and the Restricted rate is 0.65.

* Voted to accept and match an offer of assistance for fiscal year 2015 from KETS funds in the amount of $13,883 to be used for technology.

* Approved a four-year installment payment agreement with KSBIT-WC in the amount of $40,419 beginning in 2014-15. This deals with a civil suit settlement in which school districts are assessed reimbursement in a Workman’s Compensation action.

* Approved an agreement with Somerset Community College for the 2014-15 school year for the purpose of providing work to students eligible for the Federal Work-Study Program, giving college students a chance to work while in school.

* Director of Pupil Personnel Julie York then gave the attendance report for the first month of school, August 1-28. Compared to the first month last year, attendance was down seven tenths of a percent, from 96.89 in 2013-14 to 96.18 this year. Overall enrollment is up by 21 students, from 1,731 to 1,752. The school with the highest rate of attendance for the month was Albany Elementary at 97.12 percent Average Daily Attendance.

The next regular meeting of the Clinton County Board of Education is scheduled for Monday, October 13 at 5 p.m. at the Central Office and is open to the general public.

School board has combined call meeting, non-action work session

Clinton County Board of Education, after having cancelled its regular meeting scheduled for September 8, held two special call meetings within a week. The first of the two special sessions was held last Wednesday afternoon, September 10 and combined a meeting with a work session.

All members were present at last week’s lengthy meeting, which began with an executive session with legal council pertaining to pending litigation.

During that meeting, the board entered into closed session to discuss pending litigation in James C. Thaxton and Michael P. Sinclair v. Clinton County Board of Education, et. al., Civil Action 1:14-CV-100-R, presently pending in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Kentucky, Bowling Green Division, as authorized by KRS 61.810(1)(c).

The aforementioned action, which names the superintendent and two principals as defendants, is a $3 million civil suit, originally listing only Thaxton as the plaintiff.

Following the executive session on the litigation issue, the board returned to open session but took no official action.

The only other item of business on last Wednesday’s agenda was a “non-action” work session conducted by Superintendent Charlotte Bernard and dealt with the following topics: budget, taxes, indirect cost, KETS offer of assistance, KSBIT-WC fund assessment agreement, Somerset Community College federal work study program agreement and board credit hours.

The board held a second special meeting on Monday evening of this week, basically in lieu of its regular meeting that was cancelled, had several more general items of business, some of which had been discussed in last week’s work session. Details of that meeting can be found beginning on page 1.