The Clinton County Board of Education held a lengthy work session last Thursday afternoon at the Central Office with all members present. The approximate two-and-a-half-hour meeting dealt primarily with finances, the upcoming tentative budget and discussions pertaining to the process of doing the superintendent’s annual evaluation.

Finance Director Mike Reeves reviewed in some detail the proposed 2017-18 general fund budget of $14,456,77, which is down slightly from the 2016-17 budget. He said approximately 71 percent of the budget has been expended but noted the district is where it needs to be financially and about where it was at this same time a year ago.

Reeves presented the board members with a budget analysis for their review, highlighting some items along the way. For example, the school district payroll accounts for over one-half the total budget at $8.7 million. He also broke down the analysis to include costs of supplies, maintenance, utilities (which is among the most major expenses incurred), transportation, insurance, site-based allocations, services and more.

Reeves added that revenues in some areas would be down during the next fiscal year, including a slight decrease in Department of Education SEEK funding. He also advised the district needed to take the state allowed four percent tax adjustment, which would generate an estimated $60,000 in revenue.

The discussion also included county property tax collections and the Food Service budget, which Reeves estimated would show an approximate $100,000 surplus at the end of the current budget year. The total Food Service budget is $1,667,600.

Both Reeves and Superintendent Charlotte Nasief also inserted that the Clinton County School District spends approximately $125 per student, compared with $100 per student provided by most school districts in the state.

The board also discussed various school district related insurance policies and rates and it was noted the current carriers were concerned about higher rates affecting insurance costs all across the country.

The current carriers recommended switching companies to help save on student liability, property liability and worker’s compensation rates, all of which will see increases, but at lesser amounts than some current providers.

One other insurance policy, which the district has purchased for the past three years, is cyber liability, or insurance that would cover the district in the event of hackers breaking into the school district’s computer systems.

The board also discussed having an estimate taken to repave the tennis court at the high school, which has developed a crack in the court, as well as estimates to have the CCHS baseball facility repainted.

Superintendent Nasief briefly discussed the current facilities and possibility of the school purchasing the SCC Clinton Center facility and the need to move the Adult Education program out of the current, dilapidated annex building. More information on those issues will be disclosed later.

Supt. Nasief also discussed the highly successful Bus Stop Cafe program, a summer program that provides lunch and breakfast to children in the county. She said the number of locations for the bus to stop has been extended to eight locations for this summer. (More details on the Bus Stop Cafe will be published in a later edition of the Clinton County News.)

Prior to adjournment, the board spent over a half-hour with board attorney Angie Capps, who reviewed the criteria and process of doing the annual superintendent’s evaluation. That discussion was done in the absence of Supt. Nasief. The annual evaluation takes place in July.

Superintendent Nasief also conducted a brief work session on several items to be voted on at the board’s regular meeting.

The school board held its regular monthly meeting Monday evening of this week and details can be found beginning on page 1.