Marshall school board gets good news/bad news on financial issues (UPDATE: 10:20 a.m. Nov. 25)

Superintendent Craig Noah said the audit included several findings, or items that should be addressed, but he noted that one of them is not really a cause for concern.

The auditors noted that the district does not have adequate separation of duties in its office staff, but Noah said that's because the staff is small and the finding is a common one for school districts.

"We can't go out and hire six bookkeepers," he said.

Another finding, which has to do with verification of financial status for families qualifying for free and reduced meals, is already being addressed, he said. The district fell slightly short of the required verification percentage, but steps are being taken to increase family participation in the process, which will improve the chances of meeting the requirement.

The budget situation looks grimmer than it did earlier in the year, not because of district budget management but because the state budget is reeling from the effects of the recession and some current and planned cuts will have an effect on local school district budgets.

Noah noted some bright spots in the budget picture. Two sources of state funding were more than predicted, giving the district about $170,000 it hadn't planned on, but the tax levy rollback due to the Hancock Amendment and reductions in Proposition C funding more than wiped out that gain.

"It's kind of a wash at this point," Noah said. "It's not good news; it's not 'sky is falling' bad news."

Noah reported that Gov. Nixon has promised to protect most elementary and secondary education funding, which is a hopeful sign, but he warned the board of significant cuts to other educational programs that will be felt by districts in terms of reductions in services.

In other business, Noah reported that the district met targets in 10 of 14 goals, according to the preliminary Annual Performance Report. He said the final report will be available after Nov. 30 and by then the district could increase the number to 11 if revised graduation rate figures are sufficient to meet the target.

The board also heard several reports, including one from Bueker Middle School Principal Lance Tobin and a team of teachers who have studied the 6 Traits + 1 approach to writing. Tobin said the team supports adopting the approach from kindergarten through eighth grade.

The board also heard program reviews from administrators of Saline County Career Center, the Adult Education Program and the district's library and media center programs.

Director of Special Programs Erin Oligschlaeger gave an update on work done by the committee studying whether the district should return to providing its own food service rather than contracting with a food service vendor.

Assistant Superintendent Brandon Russell gave an update on the Comprehensive School Improvement Program committee's work.

In another item of good news, Noah informed the board that the district would add 24 wireless laptop computers at Eastwood, Southeast and Benton elementary schools, which would increase flexibility and convenience for students and teachers.

Wireless networking is difficult at BMS, however, so the district is upgrading a computer lab there, Noah said.

The money for the technology improvements comes from federal Title 6 funding. A total of 121 new computers "won't cost us a dime," he said.

Noah added that the technology improvements follow the district's technology plan.

Noah also reported that the leaders of the school bond campaign committee plan to meet Wednesday, Nov. 25, to begin planning the campaign for the April election.

He also said the district's construction management and architect firms would soon begin studying two issues voters expressed concerns about during the fall election campaign. He said the architect would provide estimates of how much it would cost to renovate and expand existing elementary schools to meet the district's needs and the construction management firm will study which of the existing buildings is in the most precarious physical condition and could be expendable if a new school is built.

In closed session the board approved several fall sport renewal contracts, including MHS football -- Caleb Crawford, Ian Verts, Jason Price, Jon Stockman, Kile Guthrey and Greg Kempf; MHS girls tennis -- Susan Carney and Paul Gieringer; MHS cross country -- Ted Denton and Judy Denton; MHS boys soccer -- Josh Posegate and Kelly Callanan; MHS boys swimming -- Jillian Pointer and Matt Green; MHS girls golf -- John Weaver; MHS volleyball -- Gentry Lark and Julie Orey; MHS softball -- Danielle Callanan and Amanda Van Winkle; MHS Cheer -- Lisa Bridges and Heather Sappington; BMS football -- Josh Ming, John Makings and Jason Varner; BMS volleyball -- Beth Blumhorst; BMS soccer -- Justin Van Winkle; BMS cheerleading -- Lari Welch.

The board accepted resignations from Julie Barbagallo, freshmen volleyball; Katie Berger, seventh-grade volleyball; and Charlie Guthrey, eighth grade football.

Board members Cindy Brandt, Mark Gooden, Kathy Green, Sherrie Stouffer, Anita Wright, Teri Wright and President Larry Godsey were present. The next regular board meeting will be Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 7 p.m.

Contact Eric Crump at marshalleditor@socket.net

On the Net:
www.thetraits.org
www.marshallschools.com