Clinton County Board of Education held its final meeting of the 2011-12 school year on Monday night of this week, one day prior to the last day of classes. The board, will all members present, dealt with a variety of issues, including approving the tentative 2012-13 fiscal year budget.

The board first recognized the CCHS Academic Team for itsaccomplishments this past school year. The team is coached by Kathy Conner, with Stacey Evans being the Future Problem Solving team coach.

Conner and a couple of the academic team students reviewed some of their past successes during the school year, including taking first overall in district competition and doing very well, individually and as a team at the regional level.

After approving minutes of several meetings, including one regular meeting and several special meetings, Matt Johnson, Agriculture instructor at the high school, gave the board an overview on a new project in which he is now seeking funding for.

The program is known as the Farm to School Program and would basically allow agriculture, or FFA students to grow vegetables of various types, especially tomatoes and supply that food directly from the school to the Food Service Program.

Johnson said he was going to apply for a one time $20,000 start-up grant, with a 25 percent match, from the USDA to get the project off the ground.

The program would not only allow ag students to grow and supply many of the vegetables used in the local schools’ food program, but also teach students marketing skills.

The due date for the grant application for the project, which could save the district money in the long-term, is June 15. The board took no official action Monday night, but is expected to approve the application process at a later date.

After approval for between meeting disbursements totaling a little over $48,000 and voting to pay claims and bills, Superintendent Mickey McFall announced the classified non-renewal contracts for the next school year, including: Della Rose Hunter and Kathy Ridge, aides at Albany Elementary; Christopher Marcum, Mentoring Case Manager at AES; Ashley McWhorter and Jennifer Riddle, paraprofessionals at the middle school; Kathy Conner as Mentoring Project Director; and Nick Irwin as School Resource Officer, districtwide.

Salary schedules were approved for certified, classified and substitute teachers for the 2012-13 school year. Supt. McFall noted there were no changes in either pay scale for any employees–including no pay increases–due to the budget outlook. The board also approved monthly pay dates for the upcoming school calendar year, July 2012 through June 2013.

Two bids had been received for the school district’s bank depository for accounts including all school activity accounts from July 1 of this year through June 30, 2014. First and Farmers National Bank was awarded the bid, offering a 1.10 percent APY. The other banking institution that submitted a proposal was Monticello Banking Company at .35 percent APY.

The board approved its annual membership with the Green River Regional Educational Cooperative for the 2012-13 school year and renewed its contract with Roberts Insurance as the provider for the Student School Accident Insurance at a cost of approximately $20,730.18 (just slightly higher than the current year’s rate), which includes a 10-year catastrophic benefit of $6 million per student.

A contract was entered into with the Lake Cumberland District Health Department to place a Health Department employed Registered Nurse at Albany Elementary School and the Early Childhood Center for the next school year at $12,500 per school.

The board also approved an agreement with Somerset Community College for the 2012-13 school year for the purpose of providing work to students eligible for the federal Work Study/America Reads/No Child Left Behind.

After voting to eliminate one exceptional education certified teaching position at the high school at the conclusion of the current school year, the board reviewed and passed the 2012-13 fiscal year tentative budget.

Superintendent McFall explained that federal programs had already been cut and/or not refunded and SEEK funding continued to be down. Some staffing cuts had been announced at last month’s board meeting.

The district will continue to fund two School Resource Officer positions from Capital Outlay funds this year and there will be $400,000 left in contingency. Although the budget is balanced, it is extremely tight due to the overall state budget allocations over the past few years.

The tentative budget is one of three budgets considered throughout the school year, with the draft budget being presented in January with no action by the board being necessary. The actual working budget in which the district has to live by is adopted in late summer.

The board also approved the Comprehensive District Improvement Plan and District Assurances for the upcoming school year. This entails plans involving the student learning environment as well as academic performance goals.

Supt. McFall also noted an issue that needed to be addressed in the near future was that of cell phone use by students. He said the district needed to look at ways to allow constructive use of those devices by students rather than punish those students who use them.

The board also approved a family medical leave to custodian Daryl Shelton through August 9 and voted to establish an aide for special needs children at the Early Childhood Center.

Director of Pupil Personnel Charlotte Bernard then gave the monthly attendance report for the next-to-last month of school.

The overall attendance district-wide for the eighth month was at 93.24 percent, three-quarters of a percent higher than the same month the previous year when it stood at 92.49 percent.

The school which showed the greatest improvement in attendance was Clinton County High School, standing at 91.87 for the month, compared to 89.89 last year. The school with the highest attendance for the month was Albany Elementary School at 94.09 percent ADA (Average Daily Attendance).

The next regular meeting of the Clinton County Board of Education is scheduled for Monday, June 11 at 5 p.m. at the Central Office board room and is open to the public.