Clinton County Board of Education, meeting for the first time after the start of a new school year, voted 3-2 to the four percent over compensating tax rate on Monday evening, August 21 with all board members present.

The compensating rate, according to finance director Mike Reeves, is expected to generate the district approximately $88,000 in additional property tax revenues which he feels is much needed considering the situation with the state’s dwindling retirement system and other reasons.

According to the local PVA office, three quarters of average taxpayers fall in the $50,000 and under category in property values. For example, people who have property value of $50,000 would see their tax rates increase $8.50, or about .71 cents per month under the adopted rate.

Board member Jeff Sams made the motion to propose a tax levy at the following rates for 2017-18: 44.3 cents per $1000 on real estate, 44.3 on personal property; .53 cents on motor vehicle, and three percent on utility and to propose to tax watercraft as defined by KRS 136.1801 and set Thursday, September 14 at 5 p.m. as the day and time for the hearing of public comments related to the proposed tax rates.

The motion received a second from board chairperson Paula Key and passed with board member Goldie Stonecipher also voting yes and board members Kevin Marcum and Gary Norris voting no.

(A table listing the yearly/monthly increase per $10,000 property range can be found at the end of this article.)

The board also held a work session last Thursday and extended Superintendent Charlotte Nasief’s contract, and later the Local Planning Committee approved the draft version of the District Facility Plan.

In other regular business at Monday night’s regular meeting, the board voted to grant a family medical leave to Anna Sue Smith through September 11; voted to pay claims and bills; approved between meeting disbursements; approved CCHS sports schedules as well as a host of school related trips for all schools and various organizations, such as JROTC competitions, to name a few.

Following a brief monthly finance report by Finance Director Mike Reeves, chairperson Key gave another lengthy personnel report, as follows:

* Certified retired: Ron Cook, teacher at CCHS.

* Certified hired: Stacy Thomas, assistant principal at CCHS; Joshua Womak, teacher at Albany Elementary; Jordan Fillingham and Presley Sutton, teachers at the middle school; Jessica Ndiaye, teach at CCHS and Melissa Ramsey, JROTC teacher at CCHS.

* Certified resignations: Steven Jake Asberry, assistant principal, CCHS; Amanda Moons, Cross Country coach, CCMS and Michial Conner, head baseball coach at the high school.

* Continuing contract: Vivian Talbott, teacher, Foothills Academy.

* Substitute teachers: Kaitlyn Groce, Ansley Stalcup and Brooke Wright, all district-wide.

* Classified retired: Eugema Scott, aide at CCHS; Doug Irwin, head mechanic at the bus garage, effective March 1, 2018.

* Classified resignations: Peggy Stinson, aide at ECC; Chris Smith, aide at AES; Paula Gibson, cook, district-wide.

* Classified hired: Jennifer Pierce, Food Service Assistant II, district-wide; Rachaelle Shelton, aide, CCMS; Bobby Evans, maintenance worker III, district-wide; Dipesh Soma, Cross Country coach at CCMS and CCHS; Chris Smith, custodian at the high school; Ashton Hay, assistant football coach, CCMS; Jeremy Wright, full-time substitute bus driver; Paula Gibson, aide ECC; Earlene Shelton, aide, CCMS; Kaitlyn Groce, clerical assistant, CCMS Youth Service Center.

* Classified transfer: Jimmy Thrasher, from full-time substitute bus driver to regular driver.

The board also voted to approve the Indirect Cost Report for the 2017-18 school year, the Non-Restricted Indirect Cost rate at 10.15 and the Restricted Rate at 0.94; approved Supervision of Students Plan for all schools; approved a memorandum of agreement with Cumberland Family Medical Center for the purpose of being utilized for medical billing as the medical director of the school district’s health services; and voted to enter into a contract with Annie Moons to provide speech therapy on an as needed basis at $50 per hour.

The board also approved the amended Facility Plan, which had been given the go ahead the previous week by the Local Planning Committee and takes in the SCC-Clinton Center. The plan will now be forwarded to KDE (the Kentucky Department of Education) which has already made a site visit of the facility and is expected to give final approval of the acquisition by the school district of the facility.

The board also voted to establish a classified three-hour athletic director position district-wide and amend a policy as an emergency for the purpose of diploma requirements for current students for 2021 and beyond.

Director of Pupil Personnel Julie York then gave a very tentative, early-year attendance report, noting the first few days of school has seen attendance at over 97 percent and early preliminary enrollment numbers up by about 20 students over the end of the last school year.