JACKSON ADOPTS BUDGET; SCHOOL BOARD VOTES TEACHERS' PAY HIKE

JACKSON -- The Jackson School Board Tuesday approved an $11.7 million tentative budget for the 1992-93 school year, which includes a teacher salary hike.

School officials called the budget "bare bones," and said they were concerned most about the district's Special Revenue Fund which pays teacher salaries and benefits.

The fund currently shows a negative balance, but due to transfers from other funds, will end the year June 30 at a break even point. School districts are prohibited from ending the school year with negative fund balances.

Because of the financial woes, next year's teacher salary schedule will remain essentially unchanged for the third consecutive year, and will include no pay increases above the district's 21-step salary schedule.

While most teachers in the Jackson district can still move up the salary schedule, 34 long-term faculty members will remain frozen at the top level for the third consecutive year. For most teachers, the pay hike in the schedule will average about $500.

The schedule was recommended by the Community Teachers Association.

The top salary for a teacher with a master's degree, 16 graduate hours and 21 or more year's experience is $33,013. The starting teacher salary in the district is $18,400.

"This is a schedule we can afford," said Superintendent Wayne Maupin. "We can finance this schedule."

The projected year-end balance in the current budget is $2.37 million. Projected receipts for next year's budget are $11.6 million, which would leave a year-end balance next year of $2.25 million.

"This is a very abbreviated budget to get us into the new school year so we can pay bills in July," said Howard Alexander, the district's business manager.

Alexander said the budget reflects not only a stagnant teacher salary schedule, but material and supply budgets will remain the same for the third year in a row.

"Capital projects spending decreased in the new budget, from $165,000 to $85,000," he added. "Purchase of new school buses has been cut out of the new budget."

Alexander said the budget fails to address classroom sizes in the district. He said that although enrollments continue to increase, there will be no new faculty.

"The new budget does not reflect increases that are occurring in school enrollments," he said. "Class sizes are increasing, but the number of staff will remain the same in the budget. Also, the cost of books for additional students will continue to go up this year."

The district's business manager said that by keeping a tight rein on expenditures, the new budget is realistic.

"There are still a lot of questions on the receipt side of the budget," he said. "The expenditure side of the budget we have a lot of control over. The receipt side, we don't.

"We still do not know exactly what our end-of-the-year balances will be for this year."

Maupin said that despite the concerns, he's satisfied with the budget.

"We feel really good about this budget," he said. "We think we have the money and the levy assigned to cover continuing costs, and that's been a concern of ours the past couple of years that we were in a situation where we could not cover continuing costs without a major revision of the budget, and that is woven in there."

Maupin said the budget assumes state funding will come in as projected.

But he warned that in the past couple years the state has dealt the district some unpleasant surprises.

"We are assuming employee health insurance costs will remain at least at current year levels," Maupin said. "There are a lot of unknowns with this budget, but I feel very fortunate that we have a budget like this to operate with.

"It will allow us to proceed into the next school year with some stability."

Maupin said that in many other school districts school boards are being forced to come up with new budgets that aren't nearly as healthy as Jackson's.

The board also approved $82,900 in summer capital improvements.

The projects include $21,154 to repair the exterior and roof of the school district administration building; $16,000 for replacement of the junior high school science lab tables, and installation of 50 additional student lockers; and $3,000 for removal or repair of an underground storage tank at the old bus garage.

Maupin said that if possible the buried tank will be upgraded so it can continue to be used to store fuel for driver education and school district vehicles, saving the district more money.

Other summer capital projects include $5,000 for replacement of the exterior wall panel at Westlane Elementary School; $9,000 for carpet replacement at Westlane; and $6,000 for exterior door replacements at Burfordville, Gordonville and Millersville attendance center.

The board voted to re-appoint Howard Alexander as board secretary for the 1992-93 school year, and re-appointed board member Darrell W. Hanschen as board treasurer. It also approved re-appointment of Jerry Schwab as school district auditor, and David Beeson as school district attorney.