Thursday, June 14, 2007

338 assessment less than expected

by Clarke Davis

Valley Falls school board members learned Monday night that the district’s assessment for special education for the next budget year will be closer to a 7 percent increase instead of twice that amount as previously forecast.

Linda Aldridge, the new executive director of Northeast Kansas Education Service Center, appeared before the board to explain the budget process and the problems that board is dealing with.

The assessment for Valley Falls is now expected to be $142,142, up over $9,000 from the current year. An earlier prediction had the increase closer to 14 percent.

NEKESC is sponsored and funded by seven school districts, the six in Jefferson County plus Effingham. A representative from each district makes up the co-op’s board. Together they are assessed $1.6 million a year.

Aldridge noted a number of problems she is dealing with, one being Medicaid funding. This is a $650,000 line item in the budget.

“It’s highly political . . . and the bottom dropped out,” Aldridge said, telling the board that this money from Washington is going to dry up. While the co-op has some reserves in this fund, she is trying to wean the budget off gradually so the impact won’t be too great on the sponsoring districts in any one year.

Another figure she pointed out was one that has been called “carryover” amounting to $451,000. She said it concerned her that together the carryover and Medicaid made up over 30 percent of the budget. An unencumbered cash reserve is necessary for the co-op to operate through the summer months when no money is coming in but she has taken this cash balance down.

Aldridge also informed the board that while their student head count was going down, the amount of services they required from the board were going up.

“That’s true in all the districts,” she said. “Fewer kids but a greater amount of services.”

Valley Falls had a budget based on a head count of 450 this current year with full time equivalency in the cooperative of 9.72. The coming year’s projection is 421 and 11.79.

Board member LaVerne Clark wanted to know if the district was being penalized for prior mismanagement, but Aldridge refused to answer for legal reasons.

“There’s things I cannot discuss that have been handled in executive session,” she stated.

Minutes of the cooperative’s board reflect repeated executive sessions to protect the attorney-client privilege with attorney Larry Mears. If there has been malfeasance at the expense of the public, it will apparently be awhile before the public is informed.

“My board is questioning everything and so am I,” Aldridge said.

Superintendent David Grove said special education is a high dollar item.

“We expect good service and we are getting it,” he said.

The increased amount of money needed for special education will come out of the district’s general fund.