School budget includes a 2.8 percent levy

DUNDEE—Dundee Superintendent Kathy Ring said the school district’s current draft of the 2013-14 school budget contains a tax levy increase of 2.8 percent during the school board’s meeting Thursday, March 14. She said the tax cap for the 2013-14 budget shows a 4.65 increase, and the board was hoping to land somewhere between 2 and 3 percent while coming up with the budget. Ring also said there are other potential cost savings measures the board can go back over and discuss before adopting a proposed budget during their Thursday, April 11 meeting.
School Business Official Melissa Lawson said the current total budget stands at $15,061,741, saying she will be presenting a list of all the proposed changes to the budget during the April meeting. She also said the board needs to come to a decision on what to do about creating and funding a potential school bus reserve fund before the April meeting.
School board President James Koehler said “it is a very nice budget,” and the board “has not chopped very much of anything.” He said he does not see where the program is suffering at all.
Koehler said a 2.8 percent increase is about where the district has been the last few years at this point in the budget process, but due to year end surpluses, the tax levy increase ended up at 0 percent. However, Koehler said chances of reducing the current 2.8 percent increase for next school year are not as great because the school will have to do something with the school bus reserve. He said “rather than put money against the levy we would be more likely to put something against the school bus reserve.”
Board members James Hill and John Frederick agreed saying they believed a 2.8 percent levy increase was fair, especially since the last few years have not seen an increase. Hill also emphasized the board still has time to look at additional measures that can bring the levy increase down before next meeting as well. Ring said it is important to be mindful of the Yates County tax increase, saying “There is no reason to not be as conservative as we can.”
In other business:
• The board approved a foreign language student trip to Quebec for the first week of February in 2014. The board also approved a chorus trip to New York City from Friday, April 12 to Sunday, April 14 in 2013.
• The board approved the creation of an outdoor club called Dundee Adventure Bond Club through the physical education department. Athletic Director Jennifer Hutches said it is still in the beginning stages, but is a way to utilize the new curriculum. She said she is considering purchasing kayaks with the remaining money from the Physical Education Program (PEP) grant, which would allow the school to take weekend and summer kayak trips.
• The board approved the EXCEL Capital project 2009 Phase Two Change Orders, which include providing field fabricated custom wall sleeves at the Iverson and 1952 wing unit vent locations to accommodate the transition between existing conditions and new equipment. It also provides custom fabricated wall sleeves to accommodate the existing openings service to the new UV/FCU.