001Work session to order. You join in a moment of [Music] silence. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for [Music] all. Thank you everyone for being here this evening. [Music] and try this one. Okay. We publish a budget calendar. Mr. Stepp put one together earlier last year and we mentioned again last Thursday night at our work session that we have a meeting today. So, here we are. Main thing we want to do is have a introduction to the budget, some explanation of what we're looking at. With that, I'll let Mr. Go ahead. Okay. So, as we discussed last Thursday, we're going to go over the overview, executive summary again, um, page by page so we can
002ask questions. And like I said, this is just an introduction of the budget for you guys so you can get familiar with it. Once you leave this meeting, you have all your detailed information line by line. If you want to set up a meeting with me and Miss Bray, you're welcome to come in. We'll sit down and go through everything with you line by line if you would like. Um, so let's start out with the executive summary. So this is the third year of our 5-year strategic plan, which obviously we're going to work on that strategic plan some once we get through with the budget. Next slide. So, these are our required raises for certified teachers. It's uh the governor's plan is to in a 5-year plan get all teachers to the minimum $50,000. For
003us, what that meant was we're we were between 40 and 41,000 for a first year teacher when we started this process. So, we're going almost $10,000 more for um a little less than 600 of our personnel. So, those are big increases each year. And of course, each year we also want to uh do raises for our classified employees. So, as we discussed before, 2% is what is covered by TISA for us. Uh just the salary part. Then another big big cost for us is health insurance. It's gone up 3 to 10% each year um for the past several years. So that increase in the uh insurance benefits for all of our certified and classified employees. It's been big increases each year. Um we also had increase in in the retirement system rate estimating about 9%
004for all employees. Um, we've had these raises for the past two years, which is uh why I was concerned about this year's budget, but the total salary and benefits increase just for this year is that 3.6 number and the majority of it is the governor's requirement, the new legislation. So, any questions on this slide before we move on? That that doesn't get us to the 50,000 though, right? Oh, we have one more year and it'll have to be the 1713. So, the first year we did percentage and then we've done flat last year, flat this year, but it's caught up to us. Any other questions? All right, next slide. So, the only positions I was wanting to add this year, and that'll have to be just a discussion of the board if we want to
005keep them. This year, I added a half elementary assistant principal to Martin. Had a lot of ULN's and student population was high. So, get them some extra administrative help in there. Our other two schools that are well above 600 and U Stone has a lot of ULS also. Um, so I was wanting to add a half AP at both of those schools, but that's going to be something we need to discuss since we we've got a gap right now. Uh, next page. Wait, any questions? Sorry, I should ask for questions. No, we need we we need since we put we put another principal a assistant principal at um Martin, we still need one at Homestead. And like I said, Stone Are they there for the full-time or just part-time? What Martin did is they supplemented
006that position with their title money. Okay. So, it became a full-time AP. Okay. Thank you. And I think it's worked out really well there. So, thank you. Mhm. So, Mr. Gran Winkle, just to catch you up, we're doing the summary from last Thursday. We just did the salary increases. What that cost is um this executive summary, so it's up on the screen. We did the increase in raises that's required by the state and then classified the increase in insurance which was 7% and the increase in TCRS which is 9% for all employees this year. So the total total for the increase was $3.6 million for this year. And now we're on the page of what I'd like to add, which is the the halftime assistant principal positions like we did at Martin, but that's going
007to be discussion of the board if we can do it or not. So the next slide, projected revenues. And what I've done with this is all the itemized line item stuff on the regular budget. I've just put the changes up here and the revenues so it's easier to read. So here's the projected revenues current local contribution. So the total increase in TISA was basically $2 million. That TISA at calculation is with 75 less students than the previous calculation. So that's between5 and $600,000. Any questions on revenue paid? No, that's that's just a projection from the 15th of this month because it could change because our numbers change each month last year. So this is based on last year's calculations. Could go up, could go down. Correct. When is the enrollment cut off before they say,
008"Okay, here's your number and here's what the It's based on an average over the year." Okay. So, you could spike in December and a bunch of people leave and move somewhere or vice versa. The rough average over the rough average over nine cycles. Correct. Those cycles are how many months apart? Uh, every the 15th of every month they're pulling data, but they didn't give us our first estimate till February 15th. But we're we're matching codes uh with what the state's pulling so that we can line up and and we appeal each time if it doesn't line up. But that's another estimate. March 30th and April 30th, I believe May 30th will be the final. Okay. Any other questions? Okay. Next page. For us to maintain our current strength with the raises in handling maintenance projects,
009uh we we would be at $83.4 million. Our revenue this year is 75.8. So we got a budget gap of 7.6 if we go with what we do this year plus the maintenance and the payraises. So what what you're going to see today is this is this is the original budget that we pulled out with current strength and then increases. Uh the next one I'm going to show you if we what it looks like it's a bookend what it looks like if we cut a bunch of things. So the next slide. So if we want to try to get to balance in the budget here's some things that you would need to consider. So the maintenance plan is the rotation of replacing different things, flooring, partitions, stuff like that that's on a regular cycle. So
010they create that cycle several years ago. Um major projects that aren't bid out. So those currently, these are summer projects. So currently it's like the Martin Electric, Homestead Electric, the alarms at CCHS and North and the Brown Roof. Those were all slated as summer projects. The reason they haven't been bid out yet is the bid's only good for 30 days. So, we got to bid it out so it goes in time with when we can start that project in the summer. Uh scheduled major projects. So, that would be uh we got a maintenance sheet to show you guys on what the next are, the next um major projects that we need to do. Uh buses. So that's two regular buses and a special education bus cost. Textbook science textbook adoption is this year and CTE
011curriculums. The department cost reductions are just what each department has that they feel they can cut, but they can still try to make it work. um got the finance controller position and we have um nine part-time tutors that took the place of the esser tutor positions. So those required by law is third and fourth grade tutoring, right? Remember that goes into that third grade retention law and all that kind of stuff. Mhm. So that's a possibility when schools would pick up like they did before CO covering those tutor requirements within the current personnel. This is not saying we've decided this. This is just if you wanted to Yeah. It's just information if you want the book in one is we got the full budget or we can look at something like this. Like I said,
012this is the initial presentation. I will take the information home, call and set up a plan to meet with me and Kim one on- one anytime. We'll make it work for you. So eliminating the buses. Mhm. There's a lot of large ticket items. So next slide. So these are expenses compared to the revenue. This is with those those cuts and a few other cuts. Um, so we got it down to 78 from the 83. Any question on any of those expenses? So, you're saying you're cutting the salary benefits? No, no, I'm not. It's still 80 86% of our budget. Okay. It's the stuff on the previous page that said possible changes. Okay. that and a few other items that we've worked on yesterday and today uh to try to get it down to this number.
013Uh next slide. Mr. Ste, when will we start to realize the savings on the on the lighting project? Uh the project should be underway. When when were they planning starting? Probably they're telling me now probably late March, early April. We're discussing now where we're putting dumpsters and how many days it's going to be in that. So the operation side of it. So, it's going to take them approximately 6 weeks. Is that correct? And once that 6 weeks goes, then we start seeing that savings. And we would they projected we'd save more than what the payment is. So, we won't know that exact number. We just have their estimate from their um presentation. That was actually a requirement by the state to provide that loan, right? That we save more than we spend. Oh, yes. Yeah.
014The goal is it pays for itself. So with those changes, we're at a 1.3 gap. That's the book in. So we're still have a gap. It's down quite a bit from It's down quite a bit. The other consideration is the uh possibility of a fund balance new policy like we talked about Thursday. So if that happens then we're actually uh few million dollars a bigger gap. Yeah. So the the the 17% basically comes down to a twomonth fund balance. So how we operate, so I mean outside of federal funds is between 11 and 12 million. And the next slide is just where we are in the process. So now tonight with my first night when we finally got something to present to you to start considering, like I said, uh we'll take all this information,
015study it, and we'll Whatever the board decides, board chair will start that work sessions or committees on starting to really drill down the the budget of the team. And I have electronic copies of both of these. This is draft one. Draft one is the one that's a 7 million decrease. It says draft one at the top. Draft three is as of yesterday cuts, but like I said, these are just considerations to look at and how we decide to move forward um with it. There's a bunch of different options we we will discuss um once we get to those work sessions and committee meetings, however the board decides to move forward. But I encourage you to call up here, set up a time, sit with us. We can itemize everything. You'll notice each department has very
016similar numbers going down the column. That's the personnel expenses, benefits, expenses, materials. So those will be in each department. similar number line items that you can match that to. And with that, it's open for discussion, Mr. Chair. So, what we've got here is two packages. Last part's the same. Yeah, the salaries and pay scales are the same. Those are now those are from the work session where uh we asked if there's any objection if we just run this budget with those salary and benefits. So those are the copies of those actual ones. That's with the 17 100 and the 2% across the board. Now, if you're looking at this one right here, I will send you a copy like that electronic and the tabs across the bottom. So, if there's anything you want to do
017electronically, you can cut and paste and do all that kind of stuff. They are tabbed out and all separated. That represents 17,700 across the board for certified. Mhm. 2% for classified. It's also 2% for supervisors and other positions. They did not get that flat rate. Did the tabs include what it was previously as well or is that just what you're This is this year. Okay. So, can we get a copy of last year's as well? Well, look, you have I can send it on. I was just wondering if it could all be part of the same workbook, but that's fine. Two workbooks are fine. Is it on there in Excel or is it in PDF? Yeah, if you want that, we'll give it to you. Yeah, please. Please do that. So, a couple things to
018possibly consider. um as we move forward, balancing the budget. Um possibly since you've seen the pay scales before and the step raises before, possibly approving that that's what we're going to use for the budget this Thursday cuz that's a big item. Um, it doesn't have to be, but I know we've looked at it before in the work session. So, and then the other thing to consider maybe this Thursday if we want to uh you want us to move forward on the bids and on projects that have already been approved or do we want to wait and see how the budget works out. But I will tell you once once uh March is it Mar or May 30th is that right? So 30 days before that is when we would need to bid it out for
019the bids to be good for the work this summer. Are those not already approved? They are. They are. They're already voted on, correct? To be done. Yep. This is something that we haven't been out yet because of the timing. That could be a possible savings, but that I mean, like I said, we'll move forward if that's how the board wants to proceed. We have no problem with that. Just something to consider. you were talking about the we're going to be adopting the SC science textbook. Science. Yes. Wasn't that part of our discussion during one of our work sessions or something? It's been like 12 years or something since we It's been a while. This this school system has missed the first buy on textbooks and waited till next year. I don't know if that's going
020to benefit us this time, but you usually when you purchase the textbooks, you do it in two bulks. You do certain grades the first year and other grades the second year. Yeah. But you you don't know exactly how long it's been since we've adopted those. Eight nine years, I think. Yeah. I can get that exact date for you now. Science changed a lot in 9 years. Yeah. Well, usually they're in a like a eight six to 8 year cycle each each of the cores. But in the packets, the draft one, draft three, all the pay scales and step raises and all that are the same on each packet. It's the actual budget part that's updated. So when did we do math? Didn't when did we adopt a new math? It was last year. Last year.
021Okay. It's when we started it. The year before is when we studied it. Yes. Okay. And that's always teacher run. So we put committees of teachers and different grades and all that cover every grade, every subject. So been on several of those committees. Mr. St. So looking at the the possible changes, one that stuck out to me was the purchase of the school buses. Are we currently in a spot where all of the buses that we have in our fleet are being utilized daily? Um where's Mr. Bray? Yes. Okay. We have 72 routes and 70 employees in that department. Okay. So, there's several double routes. Okay. But there's a certain rotation on buses just like there's a rotation on floor and roofs and all that kind of stuff. Once they reach 205,000 miles, they have
022to come off if they're 12 years old. 12 years old. You're 205,000. How many do we have coming off? Well, she's got about four coming out. She's got 68 now that are road worth that are 78 passengers. She's got 190 passenger and then she's got uh looks like nine sped buses. Yeah. But if we stop that rotation, then we get behind. Correct. But we still have two buses in this the third version. Okay. Okay. If we get behind now, we'll have to catch up later, won't we? Mr. Does any do these drafts include the 200,000 per uh per area that that you projected we could cut? It's not 200,000s per department. It's in 2,000s with all the department. That doesn't include 200,000 total for departments. It doesn't include personnel. That's each department though or is
023that each department had different parts that they could go they could try to go without. I went to them and just asked what else they could do. Now that like I did we did the transportation the maintenance that does that's not included. Okay. Is that is that indicated somewhere in these documents that they said they could make? If you side by side I guess you can see that we didn't indicate it. It's just what they told me they could take out. I was wondering what what changed from this year from this previous school year to this year that they could cut that out cuz we we've lost what you said 70 students 75 students our supplies and things like that. So in actual budget the changes from year to year are that large column where
024it says it's the proposed budget to the right. Yeah. So those are changes from last year to this year. So scanning column can give you some of the bigger picture stuff. We we're still adding some of the cuts that we put in there. Okay. We just want to have something for you today so everybody can get started and moving [Music] forward. Everybody see which column I'm talking about? We have two. The estimated actual and the proposed budget is what you're talking about. You go to the right of proposed budget. Yes, sir. That column there shows you all the changes from last year to this year. Okay. Or it might describe exactly what that's for. So like on your page numbers are on your bottom right box of the spreadsheet. So like if you look on
025page five, you look at line 116 where it says teachers and then look at that box at the end. It's just explaining to you all that exactly But I don't think we can do anything too much about the salaries because we have to by law we have to get them up some. Right. We're down to the 1.3. So the only the only big other bucket item we have is personnel. That's letting go of aids. And it's there's multiple options there. You got you got letting go of personnel like I said with the tutors, the part-time tutors. Um you got full-time personnel. Uh I will tell you the elementaryaries we do a lotment meetings every year and teachers earn a teacher or lose or schools earn a teacher or lose a teacher according to the student
026teacher ratio required by the state of Tennessee. Well, the elementaryaries are pretty tight. High schools with it being blocked scheduling, um, we have a lot of personnel to make that work. And I'm not saying we can cut anybody. I'm not saying that. I'm just letting you know the difference between elementary and high school. And then, of course, our benefits package, a little over a million dollars a month our insurance benefits cost us. So, personnel is 86% of our budget. Some other counties our size there it's between 80 and 83%. Would it be okay to go back to the executive summary of of those proposed possible cuts? Is that we go back on the screen to that? Yeah. Yeah. Miss Miss McCartney, if you'll go back to that and go to right after projected revenues. There
027you go. Those are just possible changes. None of those are included in either of these drafts. So, draft three. Draft three. Mhm. And there's a few other things that I'll get out to you that we looked at yesterday that team's been working every day on this trying to brainstorm and come up with different options for the board to [Music] consider and I'll email this presentation to you. I think I gave you a hard copy Thursday, but I think yeah, I'll email this electronically to you also along with the electronic versions of the drafts on on the textbooks. So that's science textbooks you said, right? That's just science textbooks and then CTE that's which CTE are those that 50,000 agricience. Agra science and like I said, I mean we don't want to do that but we've
028done that before in the past. here is my understanding. Um move move it out one year and then do the next two years. But so is that is that not an area where we're low across the board in scores test scores on it depend depends on the school but across the board high level. I mean that's the way we were presented the data and it was low in science. Correct. Mhm. Have any of the other communities seen that have purchased new textbooks? Have they have they seen Nobody's purchasing the new ones yet. This is a statewide adoption. But but we skipped we skipped this a science book though recently. Did we skip the life science adoption? No, we skipped last social studies. Okay. Which is low as well. That was our bottom. Okay. Well, Dr.
029Eldridge, what you know, I don't want to get rid of any textbooks, but what are your textbooks? Are they helping the the ch Obviously, they're helping the children learn their trades? And they like new every year. No, we haven't gotten new textbooks probably for a science, I'd say, in 8 to nine years. Okay. Technology changes a lot. addicting right here. That's what she's giving up. Just the science cycle, but 50,000 of hers is aggra science and the rest is our regular science. Did those scheduled major projects include the ones that we we uh decided not to do this year? The Yeah. So the project the schedule major projects not bid out yet. So that's the brown roof. It's electrical at two schools alarms. It's not with the brown roof. We need to add a brown
030roof to that. And then the two alarms the county high school in north. So not doing those. That's what that is proposing. Dear Jesus. But in the hire boots previous meeting when we were talking about totals for maintenance there were only two projects that we said we weren't going to do this year which was 950,000 and I just removed everything that was not already started from that original list which is the just that second bullet point right the homestead we have the homestead fans is in progress we've already paid for the pine view roof I owe that facilities maintenance folks their money that did the project at Pleasant Hill and I just removed from this year anything that was left and there's 200,000 in there just from general maintenance and I took that out just
031to help the fund balance at the end of the year and the goal was to show you what that original budget was and then if we start cutting stuff what does that look like you know it'd be somewhere in between the budget just depending on where the the board ends up. But I want y'all to see both sides of it. But it looks like to me every single thing that you have up there, eliminate is something that we we really need and that we've already approved, right? Because um if we eliminate it, we're going to have to get to it one way or another. Yeah. I'm just showing you the extreme the original and then what it could possibly look like. I mean, it was that's not, you know, that's not my decision. I'm going
032to go the direction y'all tell me to go. So, I just want to give you all options. I understand. I understand. Unless we can print money. Well, that that's already been spent and according to the vote that has been and I and I wasn't here to vote on that. That was voted on before I was on the board, but the vote's already been approved to spend that money. Correct. And we can move forward. That's what the board So, we would have to vote to not spend that money at this point, right? in order to get that's why I thought just having a discussion Thursday night. I mean whether you say go on and do it, we're ready or you say don't do it. So there were reasons that were presented at the time to make
033everyone feel like we needed to do that and now we don't feel like we need to do that. That's not what I'm saying at all cuz those are those are like end of life type things. The roof is 20 years old, 20 plus years old. 30. It's 30 now. So they're all needs. We have fire alarm system. Yeah. Yeah. The we been plugging in and out and just fixing it ad hoc cuz sometimes some of it you can't get parts for and the electrical is a safety concern as well. Right. Can't get parts for it. Right. But we also are overloading some of those circuits with newer technology. Right. Yep. So all all of those things are are safety concerns that that we voted in to have done. I agree. I'm not saying I'm not
034doing it. I just think it should be a discussion with the board since we're looking at this budget. I was looking for to get to the number, right? They definitely all need to be done. So what the number is to maintain the fund balance to the 17%. That's what they're telling us to do. We would have to maintain 3%. If they pass the fund balance policy, it would be 17. So the fund balance policy says should not shall and the fund balance is up to the board of education not the county commission even with the policy. I'm just showing you option. I'm not telling you what to do. I know. So if we need the money to get something done that's safety a safety concern for our students and our faculty and staff then we
035need to do that in my opinion. Okay. Good. I'm not trying to sway you one way or another. I just showing you what it looks like. Well, I reached out to the TSBA attorney and that policy doesn't dictate what we have to have in the fund balance. So, [Music] okay, that's all I see currently. next set s set s set s set s set s set s set s set s set s set s set in here date that of course we just received this today so right I'd like to dig into it a little bit I hadn't been ready to give it to y'all yet just because of trying to show y'all options you right sure y not y'all have to dig and look for stuff so that's great thank you but like I
036said just let me know or let Miss Diane know or we'll set up time with me and Kim and we'll sit down one-on-one with you and go through whatever it is you want to go through and I'll get electronic copies to y'all as soon as we're done here. Okay. Now, our goal is to get done like we're supposed to by the 15th. So, we need to set some work dates between now and then. You all got your calendars with you? Mr. Mr. Chairman, it'd be better for me after 4 at 4 just because it's a hard to get here. [Music] Yeah. works a lot better for me. Yeah. Got a standing meeting until 3 just about every day. So, so as we look ahead towards the 15th, there's we did two two meetings a week.
037If it takes that much, April the 1st and 3rd, we did two and 30s. April the 8th and the 11th Then the 15th is next Tuesday. If we see that we're going to get somewhere, we can make decisions. We can have special calls after the work session. Do peace meal this part, this part, this part. We can wait and do it all at once. You don't have a preference. So which dates the first and the what? If you do Tuesdays and Thursdays till the 15th of April. Okay. Then it's 1st, 3rd, 8th, and 11th. Those are just I'm just throwing those out. You mean 10? We could do Mondays and Wednesdays. Yeah. 8th and 10th. 8th and 10th. Yeah. Yeah. Let's see. We can add meetings if we need to add or whatever. I just
038kind of want to set some dates ahead. Can we plan? Okay. Not that anything's normal, but normally you can do this in three meetings, but I like to have dates that are possible. I'm good with that. You want to do that? I'm good. First, 30. I'm good with I wouldn't accept the first. I can't be here on the first, but if everybody else can, I don't want to hold up crossing. We may want to wait till the third. Yeah. You can't on the first, but you can on the third. Correct. Miami. I still have bowling on Thursdays. Mr. Davis is available on Thursdays either. Doesn't matter. Whoever can come can come. Whoever can can't come can't come. But we worked on a a we talked on email about accommodating everybody that we could so that
039we can have the full group here and a full understanding. So that was the idea. We might be free but we still may have a problem getting sick or something. Yeah. Yeah. That's true. But if Mondays and Thursdays better, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I just need to kind of know so we can say that's what we're going to need. The first, 3rd, 8th, and 11th worked for me at 4:00. So, the 10th. Say what? I thought he said the 11th. He did, but it's the It's Thursday. First, 3rd, 8th, and 11th. He did, but it's miss. So, it's the 10th then. I'll come when I can come. I'm all for putting extra days. I know I have something to do on the first. That might be Tuesdays and Thursdays, but you know, it's not all about
040me. Most people that can attend. We want to try to get as good as we can. So, kind of show me your hands. Who can be here on the first? Who can be here on the third? But I'll have to leave early. Who can be here on the 8th? on the 10th on the what? 10th. Y'all know we've always got the 15th. Hopefully we get to close. We want to try to run about 2 hours before. You just kind of contentious sometimes. It don't have to. It just doesn't. So, I think we need to take our paperwork and go home and study, think about what we've been presented, make up our minds about where we kind of want to go to the general, come back and meet, kind of discuss that and decide what we
041need to do from there. And if you could just so those meetings are super efficient. If you got questions along the way or you just want to come in and sit with us, let's do that and then we can get all your answers out to the whole board. I can email it out to the whole board so that your questions are probably the same as some other people have. So as you bring in questions, we'll we'll try to make sure we take good notes and then email it out to the board if that's okay with you guys. made me when can we get a copy of these electronically as soon as I get back in. Okay, Mr. Chairman, put out a notification. Yes. How many can we first [Music] 8th 10th and 15th 1 38
04210 15 and we're meeting at 4 4 again we might be through this 30 minutes and one time. Well, how's that work? just educate me for a second. If we were to say on the 8th get have a special call, how do we do the notification piece of that? If we see if we see after the first meeting we're close. Got we can put that on on special or we can just wait till a certain date like pretty fast. Appreciate that. Okay. Do we have other questions or concerns that we need to talk about on the budget scheduling? We got got our paperwork. We know if we need something to contact Mr. Jeff and then meet with him. Mhm. Whatever y'all ask. He's come to my office before cuz I couldn't get away. with wheels
043was up here today. If you had to tell me what's been doing this, I would said need to talk with you. Okay, if there's nothing else and we will adjourn. Great.