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City school employees will see no pay raises in FY 2016-17 budget

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Andy Stone, left, chairman of the Bardstown Independent board of education and Superintendent Brent Holsclaw review documents on a tablet during a discussion during Tuesday’s board meeting.


By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, June 21, 2016, 6:45 p.m. — The teachers and staff of the Bardstown Independent School district will get no additional raises in the 2016-17 fiscal year.

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Lance Boston, director of special education, discusses fiscal year 2016017 contracts for services for special needs students.

Superintendent Brent Holsclaw told the board that given the district’s budget constraints, he could not recommend giving raises this next fiscal year. He told the board that the certified teaching staff will receive the step raises they receive for their years of teaching experience. The amount of each teacher’s step raise depends on the teacher’s Rank (based on the degree they hold) and their years of experience.

Last fiscal year, district employees received an across-the-board 2 percent salary increase that was mandated and partly funded by the Kentucky General Assembly.

The board approved the 2016-17 district salary schedule.

BUS DRIVERS / PT / OT. The district will be adding several new positions in the 2016-17 fiscal year, including an occupational therapist and a physical therapist.

In the past, these services were provided on a contract basis; however, IRS rulings regarding contract employees prompted the district’s decision to make staff positions for these providers, Holsclaw explained.

The district is also going to raise its bus driver pay to essentially match the changes implemented by the Nelson County School district. The goal is to keep bus driver competitive.

“The simple way to say it is this puts us back where we were before they made the change,” he said.

Holsclaw said he is also taking a look at the public relations director’s position and pay scale, noting how the job has evolved to include much more than photos and press releases.

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Board member Kathy Reed votes during Tuesday’s board meeting at the district’s central office.

ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL MOVE. The board approved moving the district’s alternative school (“A-School”) program from the former Cox’s Creek School, 6855 Old Louisville Road in Cox’s Creek to the office space at the former Salt River Electric property on Templin Avenue the district purchased earlier this year.

There will be no costs for the move beyond the labor to move furniture and equipment from the existing building to the Templin property, Holsclaw told the board. Both the alternative program and the district’s performance-based learning program will move to the Templin property when classes resume in August.

The district has used the Cox’s Creek property for more than 15 years for its alternative school program. The A-School once served as many as 40 students in a school year, but due to changes in how the district operates has decreased the need for the facility. The program now serves 6 to 12 students, Holsclaw explained, and the district has the opportunity to bring them back to the district campus.

The old Cox’s Creek Elementary school building was built about 1940. The district has used the building for about 15 years and has owned it for 10 years.

The board will discuss options for the Cox’s Creek property at its meeting in July.

COMMUNITY EDUCATION CONTRACT. The board approved a contract that will continue the district’s involvement in providing community education classes.

The concept isn’t new; these types of classes have been conducted in the past at the district’s adult education center at St. Monica Catholic Church campus. Last year the board approved handing the adult education component to Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, but wanted to keep the community education part of the adult education center’s mission.

“We think it will be beneficial to both the school system and the Nelson County community,” Holsclaw said.

The community classes can include crafts, art, and other types of classes. Academic classes — like computer classes or GED classes — will remain the mission of adult education under ECTC.

In other business, the board:

— approved service contracts for a licensed clinical social worker; music therapy provider; english language learner services; and specialized teaching services for students with hearing or visual impairments.

— approved Wilson & Muir Bank & Trust as its bank depository of record.

— approved the necessary bonds for the district treasurer and tax collector.

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