Laurel school board discusses working budget for 2023-2024 year

Sep. 27—With a contingency fund that has dropped over 6% in the past year, the Laurel County School District is making some cuts to maintain their budget.

Interim Superintendent Denise Griebel presented the 'working budget' to school board members during Monday night's meeting, explaining some revenue losses the district has undergone this academic year.

"We've lost $2.8 million in SEEK funds. SEEK is based on student attendance and we've never recovered after COVID," Griebel said. "For the academic year of 2018-19 our attendance was at 92.9. In 2022, it was 90.68. We've also had a loss of revenue this year from property taxes."

With property tax rates set at 4.26% of $1,000, the district saw a decrease in revenue of $91,278.

Those two factors, coupled with staff pay raises and footing the bill for a school district's police department and registered nurses at the elementary, middle and high schools, has placed the district facing more financial output with lesser incoming funds.

Griebel explained that while the state education department required police to be in every school by Aug. 1, funding for that measure was not supported by state funds, leaving school districts across the state to budget those funds into their budgets. Operating that took nearly $1 million from the district's budget, she said.

Pay raises for staff has also taken money from the general fund. Griebel outlined the raises that school staff have received over the past three years.

"In 2021, everyone got a 2.5% raise. In 2022-2023, certified staff got a 5% raise and classified staff got a 9% raise," Griebel said. "This year certified staff got a 2.5% raise and classified staff got a $2 an hour raise."

Griebel added that the extra expenditures had left the school district's contingency fund at a lower level than in years.

"The state requires all school districts to maintain a 2% contingency fund, or what we call the 'rainy day' fund," she said. "With the lost revenues and additional expenditures, our contingency rate is 3.17%."

The issue of staff raises was a debated one earlier in the year when former Superintendent Dr. Doug Bennett suggested a 1% raise for this school year. Several board members, however, wanted higher pay for school staff despite Bennett's claim that the pay increases would cause the contingency fund to decrease. With a majority vote, the pay raises passed with Bennett and former Financial Officer Adam Hooker stating that they would adjust the budget to accommodate the raises. Bennett has since retired and Hooker has moved to another school district as financial officer.

Griebel said that the loss of revenue has definitely had an impact of the district's operating funds but added that administrators are making cuts and will continue to make cuts to accommodate the revenue loss.

After Griebel announced the lowered contingency rate, board member and former board chair Jeff Lewis added his own comments.

"Mr. Hooker sat here couple months ago and told us what would happen, but nobody cared to listen," he said. "We've gone from a 9.78% contingency to 3.17 in one year and that's because of decisions that this board has made."

Board members did approve the 2023-2024 working budget which is around $65 million.

Better news than the budget crunch was the announcement that South Laurel High School placed 36th in all Kentucky high schools by U.S. News and World Report. Both North and South have been named to the list previously, but this is the highest ranking that South Laurel High School has received thus far. Griebel added that SLHS has been named in the Top 13 for Best High Schools across the nation.

Other business included:

—Introduction of Danny Bishop as Physical Plant Director

—Approval of Department of Juvenile Justice grant for Laurel County Day Treatment in the amount of $30,000. Griebel added that the grant was $30,000, which was higher than last year's amount received.

—Approved building permits with City of London for North and South Laurel High school additions

—Approved contract with Christian Appalachian Project Operation Sharing Gift In Kind Recipient for McDaniel Learning Center, Special Education Department, Camp Ground Elementary and Johnson Elementary

—Approval to re-create Preschool Special Needs Assistant at London Elementary and Keavy Elementary and Special Needs Assistant at London and Keavy Elementary Schools

—Approval to create Preschool Special Needs Assistant at Johnson Elementary and Special Needs Assistant at Camp Ground Elementary

—Approved 2023-2024 Student Teacher Agreement with Western Kentucky University

—Approved Professional Services Agreement with Turning Point Services for 2023-2024 academic year

—Approved 2023-2024 Clinical Affiliation Agreement with University of the Cumberlands.