HUMBOLDT — Humboldt USD 258 members Monday night approved the property tax element of the Humboldt Recreation Commission budget as part of the district’s overall spending plan, but tabled signing off on expenditures.
Board members questioned particulars of line item expenditures for personnel and contract services, totaling $41,000, and asked Jason Bauer and Darcie Farran, commission representatives, to give them breakdowns of the two.
“That’s nearly half of the (total $102,308) budget,” said Joe Works, a BOE member.
The property tax levy to support recreation will be 2.466 mills this school year and will raise $63,137 based on the district’s valuation of $25.6 million.
For perspective, a levy of 1 mill raises $1 for each $1,000 of assessed valuation. The owner of a $100,000 home will pay $11.50 for each mill of property tax.
The district’s property tax levy, to support projected net expenditures of $8,096,276 is 63.026 mills. Of that 20 mills is the statutory statewide levy, 26.220 supports the local option supplement general fund and 18.806 is for bond and interest payments.
General fund expenditures will be a touch over $4 million, with $459,789 coming from locally generated taxes and the remaining more than $3.5 million from state aid. The supplement fund, which supports the general fund, totals $1.271 million, with $671,440 coming from local taxes and the remainder from state aid.
General and supplemental general funds pay salaries and all other expenses incurred in daily operations of district schools.
A public hearing on the budget will be at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 22.
BOARD MEMBERS approved plans for this year’s building trades house at Cherokee and 10th streets. The structure will contain about 1,700 square feet of floor space and have three bedrooms.
Cleaver Farm & Home, Chanute, had the lower bid for initial building materials at $5,267. The lone bid for site preparation and foundation work, from R & S Construction, Neodesha, was $15,000.
Board members agreed to spend $1,000 for a school efficiency study through the Jones Institute for Educational Excellence at Emporia State University.
Superintendent of Schools K.B. Criss said he was unsure whether the study, which entailed meetings with administrators, faculty, students and patrons, would be conducted this school year or during 2012-13.
“We have quite a bit on our plate this year,” he said.
The result of the study will be an initial summary and then a detailed report, designed to show how “we can be as efficient as we can be,” Criss said.
In several start-of-school decisions, board members:
— Hired Russell Lingerfelt to work 20 hours a week in a technology assistant’s position.
— Filled a cook’s position in the cafeteria by hiring Debbie Jones.
— Renewed property, casualty, auto and other non-health insurance policies with Iola Insurance Associates. The annual premium will be $57,000, $199 more than during 2010-11.
— Appointed Mike Mueller and David Wells to the recreation commission.
IN HIS monthly report, Criss told board members:
— Floor covering and painting upgrades in the elementary and middle schools had been completed and a new rubberized floor in the high school weight room should be laid today.
— Enrollment — “Hopefully up quite a bit” — will be Wednesday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
— The summer meals program drew a crowd. For breakfast 1,769 children and 109 adults participated, a daily average of 45.6, while 4,230 children and 717 adults ate lunches, an average of 120.6. “June numbers were phenomenal, and they dropped off a little in July,” Criss said.
— Humboldt High School will receive an unrestricted gift of $25,000 from the estate of Bernice Splane.
— More attention will be given Google aspects in classroom examination of the Internet, because of its increased prominence.
