001We'll start with to the flag of the United States of America and to the stand of liberty and justice for all. Roll call. Mr. >> Here >> is here. >> Any additions or deletions? >> No additions or deletions. We'll move on to presentations. >> Well, I verified that my presentation person is going to be here. All right. Well, we we're I'll go I'm still going to read about it because I I'm going to make sure I I present this to her. hold that one. >> Yeah, let's do that in case she shows up. >> Then we'll move on to the financial report. >> Good evening. I'll do my best Dr. Stevens tonight. Um the report that you all have seen. Sorry, I can't just stand there that you see every single month. Uh we always
002put all of our projected expenditures right here. We break it out by salaries, benefits, claims, and on the education fund, how much we're going to transfer to operations. So that gives you a nice lovely projection number that we're trying to stick within. Of course, it's just a projection. So, we never really know what's going to happen. And then our actual numbers for those salaries, benefits, claims, and transfers. Um, we projected 1.3. We spent 1.1, which left a variance, a positive variance of $194,000. Yay. Not bad for the first month of the year. We'll check again in December. Um, revenue. Revenue is a strange thing in the field of education. So again, we projected 936,000 and we received 957. So a positive variance, which keeps all of our um bar graph nice and happy and upwards.
003And then the monthly balance that is the cash balance. So um when Dr. Stevens created the uh spreadsheet, the cash flow spreadsheet that we follow, he had projected we about 1.679 million and we have 1.8 million for in education. So go west. Okay. Operations also again January. So that's good. Um our projections we break it down salaries, benefits, claims. Um so 490,000 was projected. We spent 472,000 with a positive variance of 17,000. Our projected income um and our actual income, it's a little skewed because we took that tax anticipation warrant where they send us the money sooner rather than later. So, we don't look like 300 and some thousand all throughout until we get our June draw. So, that's why that looks so pretty. And we'll probably adjust our projected. We just hadn't gotten the
004money yet. So, we left the projected where it was until we got the money and now we'll clean that up a little bit. So the projected and the actual aren't so such a big variance and that's it. Like I say January we're in it for now. So any questions? >> All right. Thanks. Next, I want to invite Hannah from third to come up for our second 1028 hearing, >> which is going to sound a whole lot like our first 1028 hearing. >> Good evening everyone. Hannah Clenning. Um, so this is the second public hearing for the proposed bonds that the school corporation is considering issuing. Um, this is just the very first step of the process. um these two public hearings and then after the close of this public hearing, we would ask the school
005corporation to approve a um a resolution that just preliminarily sets out all the parameters for this proposed financing. So that would be a maximum of $10 million um 7% things like that. Uh Brock will go in to those numbers a little bit more here in a second. Um the same information that was presented to you at the last meeting, nothing has changed. This would just be the formal adoption of the resolution um fitting out those parameters. um that $10 million currently um the plan is to do a smaller go bond issue this year, but it does authorize the option for first mortgage bonds with a building corporation to use the remainder of those funds if that's how things shake out or what seems best for the school corporation at that point in time. Um other
006than that, I mean the tenative proposed timeline is to come back next month um for another public hearing on the additional appropriation for the general obligation bonds at The soonest we could then sell would be in April and then close on those in May. Um, other than that, I'm happy to answer any other questions, but keep this short and sweet for you guys tonight since we just did it last month. So, >> thanks. >> I'll invite Brock up from Baker Tilly. Good evening. My name is Brock. It's good to be back here. Everything that I'll walk through this evening is the exact same content you saw in January. So, I'll move through this as quickly or as slowly as you all prefer. I do want to mention that as statutoily required, we have provided additional
007handout with financial information for any taxpayer who may want that content. they are welcome to see the admin team and receive that. So for my purposes this evening, I'm going to walk you through again three things. Look at outstanding debt for Manchester schools as of today. Then we will walk through the financial parameters related to these proposed projects that you heard Miss mention. Then we'll wrap it up with estimated taxpayer impact related to the maximum parameters for these proposed projects. First things first, outstanding debt as of today for Manchester. This does not include any proposed project just actual outstanding debt as of today. Five total securities. We are in budget year 2026. So the reason why Manchester contemplate projects from 2026. You're issue bonds and begin repaying in 2027. So utilize that opportunity as debt
008matures and falls off. We can fill it up and keep the tax rate relatively the same as where it has been historically. Again, more bonds maturing in 2028 and so forth with the opportunity to fill that in with these proposed projects looking multiple years ahead. Next slide the same information just for those who like to see the numbers opposed to the graph. I won't go into as much detail as prior slide but again we're showing the numbers behind the prior slide general obligation capacity as of today. So in the state of Indiana we have a constitutional limit how much geo debt we have outstanding. It is a static number meaning as you pay off debt and as your net value increases that number can increase but as of today we have about a $2.04 4
009million geo capacity and the statuto formula is you take your net value by three and multiply by 2%. So Manchester schools total geo capacity for 2026 would be about $4.09 million and once we subtract out what geo debt we have outstanding as of today about 2.055 million as of today our go is about 2.04 million as stated as net value presumably increases in the coming years. So that topline number would increase and as you pay off geo debt that number can increase yearby year but that is the formula how the state of Indiana calculates generalation. So related back to the point this made, we are setting maximum parameters for this second hearing. That's the only state of purpose for tonight. We are setting a total maximum borrowing related to these projects being contemplated at $10
010million to give flexibility and flexibility only. In the state of Indiana, the the maximum repayment term for any individual bond is 20 years. This does not mean we're toing to bonds with 20 years. It just gives us the flexibility in case something unforeseen occurs or new legislation that we can respond to the market at the time of the just give us flexib flexibility pardon me but not the requirement to pay over 20 years. So with these broad assumptions, total interest expense, as you heard Missing say, we're setting a maximum interest rate of 7%. We do not anticipate when we sell bonds that we will be paying 7% at least not on today's market. We're just setting that as our maximum interest rate. So assuming a maximum interest rate of 7%. Assuming 8.7 million in total
011interest paid. So the maximum debt service would be Maximum annual debt service rental payments. We're setting a maximum payment for one year, 2.5 million. Again, that's to give us some flexibility going forward. We're not stating that we will hit that payment. Again, setting that maximum target to give us flexibility. do want to target here on this next row for the estimated increase to the 2025 death tax rate is essentially flat to what taxpayers were paying with their pay 2025 taxes. You saw that there was a drop from 2025 to 2026 debt. So to take us back up to where we were in 2027 beyond, that would be 11 cent increase compared to what we're anticipating taxpayers will be paying in 2026. So a short reprieve or what we refer to as a short honeymoon to
012get us back to that 2025 level. I'll show you that in a little more detail here in just additional ratios that we are required to show part of the preliminary determination. Outstanding debt of the school corporation has a ratio of net assets value is 5.9%. Typically we see that in these type of hearings somewhere in the 8 to 12% target range. So we're typically lower than what we see in other we have across the state. The last row represents the projected maximum annual payment 2.5 million as a ratio of net assessed value about half%. We typically see that percentage being somewhere from two to 5% statewide when we have the series. So both the last two ratios lower than what we typically see. So how it looks with the outstanding debt from the first chart
013is the green. So assuming that we break the proposed $10 million in maximum borrowing into multiple issuances, you can assuming five issuances of $2 million paid back each over two years. So getting in and out of the market to minimize that interest cost. But with this assumption, we're setting the maximum rate. This doesn't mean this is exactly what it's going to look like in the future. We're setting that maximum rate. The green is outstanding debt. The different color bars represents individual assumed $2 million is with this being the assumed debt service tax rate year to year. Again, we'll we'll do our best to minimize the interest expense since we're assuming 7% interest rates with these and try to minim minimize that impact to taxpayers on an ongoing basis. So that's what it looks like based
014upon the maximum parameter. Most importantly for taxpayers what it means to them. You heard me say compared to 2025 it's a 0.003 cent tax increase. So that average home value in Manchester schools according to the US business about 153,000. But as you have deductions applied for home state credits, supplemental homestead credits, that taxable value on that average home value is about $61,000. So that impact compared to 2025 is essentially nil to that average taxpayers of being an estimated two cents per month or 18 cents per year compared to what we're assuming in 2026. That average taxpayer home value would be an increase of about five almost $6 or $68 per year. So there you can see the whole level ratio or amounts of assumed home values. Then that net assessed value or that taxable value
015once we apply the the assumed deductions as found in S hold one that was approved last year with additional deductions coming for next year's taxes for those individuals who own nonresidential uh so rental property and long-term care. You can see what the assumed impact is. So for each $100,000 of assessed value would be an impact of about 26 cents per year compared to 2025 or about 98 cents per year compared to what we're assuming in 2026. Then for commercial and industrial property 30 cents per year compared to $111 compared to what we're assuming in 2026. I'll bring it up the rear with one acre of a land for each one each acre about a penny more per year on an annual basis compared to 2025 $2.20 cents per acre compared to what we're assuming in
0162026. With that, welcome. Any questions? >> When these bonds are issued, is the interest rate stay consistent throughout the life of that bond or or is there an adjustable rate? >> Yeah, no adjustable within the state of Indiana bond. So at the time when we sell it would be a fixed percentage. So no changing. So no no variable cost to the school district. >> Any guesstimates on where these rates are going? >> Yeah, good question. So um the prevailing thought right now is there will be two maybe three rate cuts in 2026. Um I think the higher probability for a rate cut is targeted probably toward May and or June and maybe one more for the last half of the year. So depending upon how we can time this when we sell from an issuer
017standpoint hopefully rates will be as low as we can get it. But the intent is that we'll sell these bonds competitively so all banks will have the opportunity to bid on that and the goal is to the lowest interest costs as we can whatever the market experience. >> Good question. >> Thank you. >> So we we entertain a motion to approve the preliminary hearing which really just sets saying we've been presented the the material. This is our second 28 hearing that allows us to move forward. Not we're not issuing bonds that comes at a later public meeting and and but just that we're moving beyond the 1028 hearing and the preliminary findings that have been presented to us by a motion to approve that preliminary >> determination. Any more discussion? >> All those favor. Thank
018you. Very well done. >> Yeah. >> Could I could I receive a hard copy of that presentation if you have that? That might be I can get one for you. I think it might be in your work packet also. >> Okay. >> Thank you. Safe travel. >> All right. So, we're on to items. >> Yeah. Thanks. 4.3 acceptance of report identifying checks being our So this is new uh a new motion that we need to make. So any check that's that remains in our in our accounting system longer than two years becomes really a void check or so but this is the the resolution just allows us to remove those from our system from our accounting system. Um correct >> and this is standard correct this is Yes, >> these are checks we issued. >>
019Checks that we issued that have not been for whatever reason >> have not been cashed. So, and again, two years is the >> is the limit. Those checks become void. It just clears these amounts out of our accounting system. >> Where where do we see this throughout our how do we account for this? Like what what bucket does this fall in? >> Um if you look at the the list, I mean these go checks go back to 2018. Some of them 2020, we have some in 23, November of 23, and since we're in 26, that's beyond the two-year. Um, so they would be in our on our payment schedule that we, you know, did in those in those months accordingly. Um, but they're they're now being voided out because they're they're no longer good. They're
020showing as, you know, showing as the outstanding check. that an individual has a cash. >> Okay. Okay. So, why have we let this go so long? You have checks what from 2018. >> Yeah, but it's seven seven eight years. It could be because the number there's only two in 18 and one in 19. So maybe just because it's such a small amount. >> But this would drive an accountant crazy, right? >> It would. >> I'll find out, Mr. Let a motion to accept the report identifying outstanding checks. >> Mr. First, Mr. >> Any other comments? >> The school system doesn't make any an attempt to reach out to these individuals. It's on their responsibility. I mean, not that I think we should. I just was curious. >> I do believe I do believe that Darla
021made an attempt to get a hold of some. >> Okay. I think one attempt would be plenty. I mean, they they they have a responsibility, too. So, >> call the pledge. >> Okay. All those in favor say I. >> I think So you have claims and claims and minutes are listed resations and retirements. Paige Smith, Manchester Elementary School one to1 pair professional. Jack Vineyard, junior high golf coach. Christina Marin, DL Spanish teacher at the end of the year. Victor Perez, DI Spanish teacher at the end of the year. D Longnecker. He was a very professional and assistant cross country coach and head middle school track coach. And Kathy Meer Cook. Those are all either retirements or res. Well, they're all resignations. Um, you want to do those all in one? You want me to go
022through? >> I think we can do them all. >> Okay. >> No grants to report. Um, donations would like to read those. Yeah, I got um all donations tonight are to the Manchester Junior Senior High School. We have a $100 to the FFA program from Keystone Charitable Foundation. $200 to the Apes Physics Trip West from Stephen and Patricia Patricia Brewbaker. $500 to the FFA program from an anonymous donor, $100 to the AP Bio Florida trip from Justin Heater, $300 to the AP Bio Florida trip from an anonymous donor, $1,500 to the AP Bio Florida trip from an anonymous donor, $6,000 to the safety program from from the treasurer of the Waw Bash County, $1,000 to the AP Bio Florida trip from the Thomas Earl Education Endowment facilitated by the Community Foundation of Wabbash County. $5,000
023to the banded choir programs facilitated by the Community Foundation of Wabash County from an anonymous donor. $5,000 to the Apes physics trip west facilitated by the community foundation of Wbash County from an anonymous donor and $15,000 to the art program facilitated by the Community Foundation of Wash County from an anonymous donor totaling $34,700. Thank you very very much. There are no facility rentals. So that would be all the cons. undermployment. >> Recommendations for employment. We have several um Jimenez high school girls head volleyball coach the high school. MA hire is school nurse covering a maternity leave doing up to 20 hours per week. Becky Nicodemus Manchester immediate half of the robotics assistant statement Eddie MIS half robotics lead Monroe MIS half robotics leads Paul running club Robin Messer MIS robotics assistant Noah Kayine Manchester Junior
024Senior High School junior high golf coach Natalie Osborne junior golf assistant coach Renee Penrod, MEES temporary ECA treasurer, and Rachel Kurt Curt, MEES, school nurse maternity covering maternity leave. >> Second, questions. All those in favor. >> Next approving Andrea Estet breakfast club morning and morning monitoring at MIR and then Mr. around questions. All those in favor update just very briefly. Hartland uh has submitted a letter of intent to apply for a career readiness grant to the Don Wood Foundation along with other entities in the county including Manchester Community Schools and facilitated by the community foundation Waves County. I I've heard Don Woods speak twice a long long time ago and once I I visited with him a little bit and Don would be very pleased at this type of activity and the use of his
025funds. So hopefully lots of good things relation relation to that coming down the line. So very exciting. >> What's the grant for >> uh plan primarily planning but the idea is uh better career out career counseling outcomes initially. >> Each entity may have a different a little different swing. >> Yeah. The the focus is on advanced manufacturing entrepreneurship and leadership. The initial grant's a planning grant. Um and then from the planning grant obviously you plan out your your next step approach to the potential million dollar grant. So the focus is career teched entrepreneurship leadership advanced manufacturing. >> There's stuff happening down there but To me, when I start looking at the bills, it's not as interesting as last year, I guess. Um, they're kind of in all different cases and and nothing like too earth
026shattering. Um, the the bill that I brought up last time or House Bill 1137 with food and beverage on school property, that's still moving through. So, that deals with uh schools that participate in federal federal funded or assisted meal programs may not serve or allow a third party vendor to style um food that has certain ingredients. So have a list of different ingredients that they want or don't want to allow. Also requires the school to post the meal menu on the website and ingredients on the website. So I don't know what we do currently. We may have a calendar but I don't know if we have ingredients. >> Yeah, we send out we send out you know what for lunch but one of the big changes would be ingredients nutritional value etc. So when the
027kids come home and say they love the meal, then right there are going to be the ingredients for the parents to make at home. >> Broccoli, cauliflower, >> good stuff. >> Um, so that looks like it'll still keep moving. Um, Senate Bill 78, wireless communication device policy, looks like something will stick with that. There's some definition changes. I think we do a pretty good job, I think, with the policy right now. So there might just some minor tweaks of that. And really there's like about 35 different bills that are kind of hanging on there, but as they drop off, language gets thrown onto another bill. And so that whole game of adding them back on to it. So, um I know we don't have much more than that, but I started reading through them and
028it was disinteresting me. So, I figured I didn't want to bore you guys with it either. So, >> and they literally can change bill trackers every day, emails from multiple sources, and they literally can change from a Monday to a Wednesday to a Friday. So, you know, we keep a pulse. The ISBA, principal association, superintendent association, ISA, obviously I'll keep a pulse on any education related legislation. So, we're just kind of waiting to see where some of the things start sh Some of the things have a more definitive direction. As Mr. Penrod said, they often if something falls off, it gets tacked on somewhere else. So, it doesn't always die. Might just come back looking a little different. >> They kind of have them catch all bills where you see like 50 different things that
029add and change and it's not really one one item. And >> they call them education matters. Education matters bills. And they may have six, seven, eight components within that may or may not be related. >> Just a couple of things. Yeah, just a couple of things. Um, Monday we have a professional development day. Probably the a big part of that day in the morning. Steve Baker, who's former administrator, superintendent, principal, has been going around the state presenting on the new accountability model, which they've pushed back again. Um, I think he's presenting the best material that he has, but he's going to be presenting to the entire staff. You recall, I know we've talked about this a couple of meetings, um, going back to letter grades for the first time in seven years in the state
030of Indiana. Um, currently saying, again, not finalized, but currently saying that they're going to issue a grade at the end of the 2526 school year on a model that still has not been approved by uh state board of education. Supposed to be approved in November, then December, then January. I believe it's I don't think it's going to happen in February either. So, I don't know. I don't know if they'll end up saying, "Well, because we didn't get this model rolled out in a timely will make it the 26th of the school year. Remains to be seen, but they're still taking some public input. I think that was through mid January, maybe the public input. So, um, but he's coming to present what he does know to the staff so they can kind of start wrapping
031their mind around the new accountability model. It's really going to an individual more of an individual model where every kid accomplishments, classes they take, tests they take, attendance, do they graduate on time, all count for something versus the collective, hey, your graduation rate is 98% or 99%. It's now more individualized or 50% of your kids pass um passer well did did Tommy Smith pass or did he not did he grow so everything becomes much more individualized the new model which I think is good um I think it's important that we track every single kid we want every single one to be successful so that's Monday um I'm leaving actually tonight after this meeting head toward Nashville Tennessee for the national superintendent conference. U there's a pretty good size Indiana delegation going down which is always
032good for our state. Um but it's you know three and a half days of meeting with six to 7,000 other superintendents from around the United States listening to topics of concern. AI is always a big topic right now. School accountability finances. So really just a lot of seminars that you during that time. So, I'm looking forward to that. Um, we do have a swimmer that qualified for state finals, Sophia Cumberland in the 100yard freestyle, so prelim Friday evening down in Indianapolis. So, we're excited to see how she bears and proud of her accomplishments. Um, as you guys know, we we had a little bit of a snow event over several days and and one that snuck up awesome and caught us off guard. Um I tried to put out on social media and I think
033it was well received just kind of the steps that we go through. Just I think it's good to review those every couple years. So parents and new parents just a reminder that we uh Mr. Self and I go out and drive the roads and we're in communication. I'm in a weather group text with seven other school corporations and we commun with the county highway department. We we checked advisories. We watched forecast Friday caught us off guard. We knew snow was coming. We didn't think it would be as hard and heavy as it came and it and it was. But luckily, we got everybody here. Did have one bus that that slid off a wheel or two into the ditch, but was able to get out on their own. By the end of the day, it
034was great. Um but unfortunately, you know, we we missed that one and M and I have talked and we'll make sure we stay on top of those types of issues. Um just like we could anticipate some fog with the temperature going up to in the 50s next week. Um and I'm going to be out. So I know Mr. S, I'll be communicating probably every morning that I'm down there just talking about where we at weatherwise. You know, any fog developing. Um, the last thing I want to do, and I'll make sure that I go and present, but I I want to make sure we get it on public record. Um, so we're in the second year, uh, the state of Indiana of having sanctioned women's wrestling, girls wrestling, and we had our first ever sectional
035champion and Kaitlin Leer this year. Um, so what she's going to receive from me, and I'll I'll read it, but um, is this This poster has our logo and I'll read and it says, "Congratulations, Caitlyn Lechron, on your incredible achievement as Manchester Junior Senior High's first girls wrestling individual section sectional champion. Your hard work, dedication, and perseverance has truly paid off, marking a historic milestone for both you and the school on January 2nd, 2026. Your victories and inspiration to your peers and the testament of the power of determination and passion. We're all proud of you and look forward to watching you continue success in the future. Well done, Caitlyn. And and I put in the bracket with all the the wrestlers that had to wrestle to get to the championship. What's great is she she
036had a buy um and then um she had a fall or a pen familiar with wrestling terms, but a pen, what I would call a pen now. They call them falls um in 2 minutes and 59 seconds. And then um in her semiinal match she had a fall at 446. So about just a little bit into the second period. And then she had a tech fall which is when you beat somebody larger point spread 21 to five was was she scored 21 points to five points. a check ball in 2 minutes and 56 seconds. If you know anything about wrestling, scoring 21 points in two minutes and 56 seconds, it's that's impressive. I'm so proud of her. Um, pray for our school. It's awesome to celebrate our first girls sectional wrestling champion. I wish I
037contacted Tyson yesterday. She said she was going to be here. So, I will make sure that we go over and uh get that taken care of and find some way to embarrass her in front of her peers and come present it to her, but just give her a little moment to hang on her wall. Um, other than that, we're, you know, midFebruary, we're kind of in the long stretch right now. A lot of I was talking to some of you beforehand, a lot of illness going around right now. We thought maybe it was weaning off, but it seems to still kind of be it ugly head. A lot of kids out. Hoping it starts to get better. I don't know if the warm up next week will help or not because, you know, we'll probably
038be followed by a cold front again. But but um that's that's where we're at. I did get an update from Mr. Stevens. I hope he's watching. You wouldn't know how tonight goes, but I hope he's watching. I told him that because he's watching from Hawaii or in Hawaii and not here in the cold weather in Indiana, he texted me right when the meeting started and said that they his half of the island's without power and my response was, "It serves you right." So, so they've had a lot of heavy rain and wind while they're there. They actually shut school one day. He texted me and said they actually, the governor of Hawaii came on and said they closed school because of excessive rain and high winds. So, But anyway, had to get that. I hope
039you're listening, Dr. Stevens. And uh you know, Shel's a hard act to follow when you come back. Just so you know, >> that's that's my report tonight. It's going to