@bkhallpo
Greencastle-Antrim School District is expecting to see $600,000 in savings after a series of personnel moves shifts 60 jobs out of the district.
The school board opted Thursday to outsource 60 positions in transportation, maintenance, custodial and information technology to outside agencies. However, 29 employees in the food service department were spared.
The district said it will encourage contractors for bus services, information technology services and maintenance and custodial services to hire former district employees, but it is not guaranteed.
Changes begin to go into effect for the 2013-14 school year. School board President Brian Hissong praised employees for their response to handling a tough situation.
"I was very impressed," said Hissong. "I want to reiterate thank you. I know it's very difficult. They were very professional and understanding of the situation."
According to business manager Jolinda Wilson and Superintendent Greg Hoover, the district faced a $1.4 million budget deficit for the 2013-14 school year when the budget process began earlier this year with the unveiling of state proposals. The district's preliminary budget is $35.249 million, Wilson said.
During a budget presentation, Hoover said other options to close the gap included cutting four teaching positions and eliminating the director position at Tayamentasachta Environmental Center or eliminating the entire scholastic athletics
program."When it comes down to it, it was either doing this or cutting teachers or programs for kids," said Hoover. "Truly, as much as I hate to make those recommendations, it was what was best for kids."
The board opted to accept the recommendations of administration and outsource 16 school bus routes for the 2013-14 school year and 17 more during the 2014-15 school year. The move is expected to save $300,000 in the budget. The change affects 33 Greencastle-Antrim employees.
The measure passed by a 6-3 vote. Board members Hissong, Tracy Baer, Joel Fridgen, Ken Haines, Mike Still and Eric Holtzman approved the move. Board members Melinda Cordell, Dr. William Thorne and Michael Shindle voted against the change.
The district considered outsourcing 14 bus routes last year, but the school board changed its mind when a report by then-business manager Richard Lipella suggested it was cheaper to keep the bus system in-house than to send it to a contractor.
Wilson said her transportation analysis included all 33 routes.
"I looked at transportation as a whole," said Wilson. "Not only did I look at transportation as a whole, I looked at the increased revenue that we would receive from the state by contracting. We had increased revenue from the state and decreased expenses as a result of outsourcing."
In addition, the board voted 7-2 to outsource 22 maintenance and custodial staff positions to a private company. Shindle and Thorne were opposed. The change is estimated to save the district about $250,000 per year.
The board also voted 6-3 to outsource five positions in the information technology department. It could save the district about $50,000 per year. Shindle, Cordell and Thorne did not approve the move.
The board rejected a recommendation to outsource food service by a 9-0 vote. The food service department has 29 mostly part-time employees. The proposed savings was considered negligible ($15,000).
It's still early in the budget process, but other options include raising taxes up to 3.8259 mills which would net the district about $721,936. The real estate tax rate for 2012-13 was 98.90 mills. The final budget isn't due until June 30.
----------
Brian Hall can be reached at 262-4811 and bkhall@publicopinionnews.com, or follow him on Twitter @bkhallpo.
Olivia Black World Ending 2012 gossip girl Ink Master Jenni Rivera Funeral aspergers Richard Engel
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.