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Board reviews tentative 2016-17 budget, price hikes for school meals

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Friday, May 6, 2016, 11 a.m. — The tentative 2016-17 Nelson County Schools district includes the purchase of new buses, expenditures for wireless technology upgrades at district school buildings, and changes in how employees contributions to Medicare and Social Security are calculated.

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Nelson County Board of Education Chair Diane Berry.

Tim Hockensmith, the district’s chief operating officer, said the budget also includes the assumption of a 4 percent tax revenue increase.

He explained that the district’s employees will see their paychecks shrink some due to federal changes in how Medicare and Social Security withholding is calculated.

Effective July 2016, the district’s certified employees’ retirement contributions will no longer be exempt from Medicare taxes. Classified employees retirement contributions will now be subject to both Medicare and Social Security withholding.

The change means the district’s employees will be will be paying more in taxes. The district will also be paying more for matching employee’s FICA and Medicare contributions.

The 2016-17 budget will include a 1.45 percent average step increase for all certified and classified employees, Hockensmith said. The budget will also include significant funding to pay the district’s share of wi-fi upgrades at the district’s buildings. The district’s contributions for the technology upgrades amount to 40 cents on the dollar, he said.

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BCD President Michael Salsman, right, and Tim Wensil, vice president, update the board on the progress of the ELC expansion project.

The budget is also expected to fund the purchase of six new school buses.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE. BCD president Michael Salsman and vice-president Tim Wensil gave the board on an update on the addition to the Early Learning Center.

The addition’s footer is mostly complete, and this month, work will begin on the underground plumbing and other concrete work, Wensil said.

The Kentucky Department of Education have approved the contracts for Thomas Nelson High School Phase III, and a preconstruction meeting is planned.

BUS DRIVER PAY. Superintendent Anthony Orr presented a revised pay scale for new bus drivers that is aimed at attracting and retaining quality bus drivers.

In a previous discussion, new bus drivers would not have been eligible for a pay increase for five years. Orr’s modified pay scale gives new drivers approximately 10 cents an hour increase each year. At year seven, the pay increases at a higher rate, Orr said.

Board member Diane Berry said the district’s bus drivers play a vital role in the school system, and supported giving drivers an incentive to stay.

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Kimberly Brown, left, district  director of secondary schools, and Ann Marie Williams, director of elementary schools, review Spring 2016 MAP test scores at Tuesday’s board work session.

LUNCH PRICE HIKE. School breakfast and lunch prices in the district are likely to see an increase next year due to the requirements of the federal Healthy, Hunger‐Free Kids Act.

The law requires school districts to compare the cost between the average paid lunch prices with the federal reimbursement provided for free and paid lunches. If the average paid lunch price is less, the district must either gradually raise its paid lunch prices or provide non-federal funding to cover the difference.

The law allows the district to gradually adjust its prices to close the gap. The law caps the increase at 10 cents, but Peach said a larger increase allows the district to avoid increasing the prices every year.

District wide, Peach recommended an increase of 10 cents for lunches and 25 cents for lunches at all district schools.

If approved by the board, the increase means school breakfasts will cost $1.35; elementary school lunches will go to $2.25, while middle and high school lunches will cost $2.50.

The last increase in school meal prices was in 2014.

The increase is not connected to the district’s participation in the Community Eligibility Program which provides free meals to all students at Bloomfield Elementary School, the Boston School, New Haven School and Horizons Academy.

The proposal will be considered at the board’ regular meeting later this month.

In other business, the board:

— reviewed the Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP) test results from the Spring testing. Overall the schools showed general decreases in Novice-rated students and increases in Proficient students.

— reviewed the proposed plan for the district summer school program.

NEXT UP. The Nelson County Board of Education will next meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 17, 2016.

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