Ryan Schumm joined in by Skype/phone. Lizzie Kellett attended as a member of the public.

Ryan presented the first draft of the budget. He assumed enrollment of 280, the addition of a 3rd 1st grade classroom teacher to accommodate the existing 3 kindergarten classes who will move up next year.

Ryan suggested getting full board input on the projected enrollment. If the board does not think the projection is reasonable, then more work must be done to brainstorm how to reach that enrollment number, what to do if enrollment does not meet projections.
 

Finance committee discussed the financials, answered questions, and made some corrections to purchases that had been coded incorrectly.

The committee noted that some of the Special Ed. costs being paid now were incurred during last school year. Naima will assemble a report for next month detailing the type and costs of our special ed charges and compare them with our projections.

Naima reported that enrollment held steady in January at 240, with one student withdrawal and one new student enrolling.

Health and dental insurance are projected to rise next year by 10-15% and 3-5% respectively. The committee discussed making changes to the employee contribution structure we currently use. Currently, employees pay 10% of the total cost of their insurance policy, regardless of whether they are on the individual or family plan. Naima and Ryan will discuss ways to both provide cost savings to the school and provide parity between the contribution amounts for individual vs. family plan employees.

It was determined that the current audit correctly indicates our reserve fund balance and no further action needs to be taken.

The committee discussed options for improving parity for employees receiving PSERS vs 403b retirement benefits.

Projected tear down date for modulars is June 8-16th. If any additional costs are incurred, Naima will bring those to the finance committee for any necessary board approval.

The cost for contracting a service provider to handle erate and SHARS reimbursements may not be worth the savings we realize through reimbursement. Naima will assemble quotes for several providers and compare to see if it would be better to go with a new provider, try to perform the service in house, or not be involved in the reimbursement process since the ROI is negligible.

Cynthia has been corresponding with GASD regarding the lease, but no further progress has been made on obtaining a lease.