Elk Lake adopts $18.2M budget

BY PAT FARNELLI

The Elk Lake School Board adopted a final budget Thursday of $18,230,524.

Total estimated revenues and other sources came to $18,261,772. Tax rates were set at 38.31 mills in Susquehanna County and 43.34 mills in Wyoming County.

This is an increase from the 37.48 mills and 42.51 mills charged in the 2012-13 school year.
A resolution was adopted for reductions on the homestead and farmstead real estate tax assessment for residents in both counties.

In other business, Superintendent William Bush announced that additional entryway security is being added to all doors to the school buildings.

The elementary entrance was the most expensive due to the size of the doors as well as the need for increased security. Teachers and staff will be able to enter the buildings using a recognition system.
The total cost of the project to be completed by Precision Glass Co. was $57,775.

The number of classroom teachers was reduced in the elementary school, which Bush said was contingent upon the numbers when school opens in August.

He said that enrollment in the district remained extremely consistent for the past school year from start to finish. The average class size increased by two students in the high school math and science classes.

A policy requiring clear plastic backpacks was revisited.

The board voted to change the policy and to no longer require transparent backpacks, as parents found them hard to acquire.

The student handbook also has been changed.

An elementary music teacher, Ryan Barrett, was hired at a salary of $44,152.

Several secretaries have retired and were not replaced.

Bush recommended hiring a secretary, with interviews to be scheduled in July.

A salary of $5,200 was approved for the board secretary.

A cafeteria freezer that has been in use since 1957 will need to be replaced by July.

Final payments were approved for several of the contractors for the SCCTC addition. A boiler replacement was approved for the high school basement as well as a new hot water heater.

Board member Arden Tewksbury asked if the buildings are still being converted to natural gas for the upcoming school year.

Bush replied that he has not had any responsce from the Leatherstocking company since the end of May. He said that there may not be enough time to get it done before school starts.

The July meetings for Elk Lake and SCCTC school boards will both be held on July 18 at 7 p.m., because the first Thursday of the month falls on the Fourth of July.