Increases in proposed EL budget

BY PAT FARNELLI
Correspondent

The Elk Lake School District proposed budget will include significant increases in insurance, salaries, and retirement expenditures, according to a
report made by Superintendent Ken Cuomo at the school board meeting Wednesday night.

Cuomo said that the proposed budget will be presented at the May 19 meeting. “We are running a bit behind, but the bulk of the budget is done. We are going through it line item by line item,” Cuomo said. “There will be three main areas of increase: salaries, insurance and retirement.” “If we fully fund a single individual, as we did last year, the cost of coverage will be increased by $5,100 per year, to $6,180 for one year,” Cuomo said. “Last year, we did not fully fund family insurance plans, but if we do, it will cost $14,256, or a $2,556 increase per family from what it would have cost last year.”

In addition, a 4.9 percent increase in retirement costs amounted to an increase of $412,373 just for this year (2015-16). Medical increases added on another $127,124. The total increase was $539,497. “We went through this school year with essentially no budget. Now, we have more than $123,000 total increase in state funding, but we have significant issues in these three areas.” It was remarkable that we were able to get through this past year and not borrow money,” Cuomo said. “We were one of very few school districts which did not.”

Cuomo noted that a “Level 1, intensive state audit” of the district was just conducted, which held up the budgeting process a bit.
“There were no findings, it was a good clean audit,” he said.

The school district has its Plan Con expenditure appointment coming up in May, Cuomo said. “We hope to get reimbursement in July.” Board member Chuck Place said he spoke to Les Baird, and one of the school district’s bonds “is coming to the point when it will have a lower interest rate,” Place noted.
Policy 823, Nalozone or Narcan, was up for a second review. This policy concerns a state recommended nasal spray antidote for heroin or other opiate overdoses, for emergency use only. There will be three reviews of this policy. The third will be at the next meeting.

After the policy is reviewed and approved, Elk Lake will apply to the state for the antidote, and will be provided two emergency doses. It was noted that the high school nurse has been trained in the use of this product.

Elementary principal Marc Weisgold gave a presentation on the Weinberg Food Bank Partnership earlier in the school year. The elementary school has been conducting a monthly food distribution to school families.

Cuomo said that two individuals want to oversee this program and that he is recommending expanding the food distribution to secondary student families as well.

A proposed 2016-17 school calendar revision was discussed and approved. Oct. 26, listed as a no school day because of the cross country championship which has been held in recent years on the Elk Lake campus, will be a regular school day, Cuomo said. “There will be no school on Oct. 10, instead. The cross country championship will be held at Lakeland High School for the next two years.”

The board approved a contract revision for bus 19, effective retroactively on April 22 for a 4.5 mile per day increase in route. The board approved assigning the position of board treasurer to Harold Bender, who was not in attendance.