* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [1.A. Call to Order - Chair] [00:00:04] I AM GONNA GO AHEAD AND CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER THIS EVENING, AND I'M GONNA TURN [2.A. Approval of FY2027 (7-1-26 to 6-30-27) Budget - Dr. Wright] IT OVER TO DR. WRIGHT. MR. KLEIN WILL BE JOINING US HERE IN A FEW MINUTES, I THINK. GOOD MORNING, HAD A LONG DAY. YEP. GOOD AFTERNOON. GOING GOOD EVENING. MAD CHAIR AND BOARD MEMBER. WE HAD A WORK SESSION, UH, THIS EVENING, UM, VALENTINE, UH, IF HE WOULD COME FORWARD. UH, WE HAD APPROXIMATELY 500,000 AFTER THE, HOLD ON ONE SECOND. SOMETHING'S WRONG. I GOT NO AUDIO ON YOU. OKAY. OKAY. HOW ABOUT NOW? YEAH, SORRY. MY BAD. UH, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU. UH, MR. VALENTINE'S GONNA COME AND GIVE US AN UPDATE ON AFTER THE SUPERVISORS APPROVED THE BUDGET, UH, WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO TO BALANCE THE BUDGET AND JUST SORT OF WALK US THROUGH A NARRATIVE, UH, WHERE WE WERE, UH, AND HOW WE GOT TO WHERE WE ARE NOW, AND THEN SOME OF THE PROPOSALS THAT WE HAVE WORKED THROUGH OVER THE LAST, UM, COUPLE OF WEEKS SINCE THE BOARD APPROVED THE BUDGET. THANK YOU. AND A GOOD ROYAL EVENING TO EACH OF YOU. UH, SORRY I DON'T HAVE A BRITISH ACCENT, BUT, UH, UH, YEAH. SO WHAT I'M GONNA DO IS JUST BASICALLY TELL THE STORY OF WHAT'S HAPPENED, WHERE WE ARE NOW, AND THEN WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING TO YOU THIS EVENING. UM, AS YOU MAY RECALL, BACK ON FEBRUARY 18TH, SEEMS LIKE A LONG TIME AGO, UM, THE SUPERINTENDENT PRESENTED HIS PROPOSED BUDGET. WE HAD PUBLIC HEARINGS AND ALL THAT, AND ALL THE WORK THAT WENT INTO GETTING IT TO THAT POINT WITH ALL THE FOLKS ON STAFF. AND, UH, YOU APPROVED IT AND IT WAS PRESENTED TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FOR FUNDING CONSIDERATION. UM, THE TOTAL PROPOSED BUDGET AT THAT TIME THAT YOU ADOPTED WAS $88,672,500. THAT CONSISTED OF AN OPERATING BUDGET OF $82,627,213. THE CAFETERIA FUND BUDGET OF $4,197,567 AND A TEXTBOOK, UH, FUND BUDGET OF $612,720. AND FINALLY, A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND BUDGET OF $1,235,000. THAT BUDGET TO FUND ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT FUNDS WOULD'VE REQUIRED AN INCREASE OF $7,231,057 FROM THE COUNTY. AN INCREASE IN THEIR LOCAL FUNDING OF THAT AMOUNT, I GUESS IT WAS SOMETIME IN MARCH. UM, DR. WRIGHT RECEIVED WORD FROM THE COUNTY THROUGH DIFFERENT COMMUNICATIONS AND WORKING WITH THEM THAT, UM, THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT OUR BUDGET WOULD LOOK LIKE IF THAT 7 MILLION, UH, $7.2 MILLION ASK WAS REDUCED DOWN TO $5,539,003. SO WE CAME UP WITH SOME RECOMMENDATIONS. STAFF DID, UM, AND DR. WRIGHT PRESENTED THEM TO YOU AT YOUR MARCH 18TH MEETING. AND THOSE WERE A NUMBER OF ITEMS. WE'LL TALK ABOUT ALL THIS IN MORE DETAIL IN A MOMENT, BUT THOSE ARE THE ITEMS THAT BROUGHT THE BUDGET INCREASE TO THE COUNTY DOWN TO THE LEVEL THAT THEY WERE CONSIDERING AT THAT PARTICULAR POINT IN TIME. UM, EXCUSE ME. LAST WEDNESDAY EVENING, A WEEK AGO LAST NIGHT, THE, UH, BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HELD A SPECIAL MEETING AND THEY ADOPTED A BUDGET, AND THAT BUDGET APPROPRIATED $87,973,543 TO THE SCHOOL BOARD. UM, OF THAT $81,928,256 IS FOR WHAT WE WOULD CONSIDER THE OPERATING BUDGET. THE OTHER FUNDS TEXTBOOK, CAFETERIA, UM, AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT. THOSE WERE FUNDED AT THE LEVEL THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD HAD REQUESTED. UM, SO THOSE WERE FUNDED AT THAT. SO THAT LEAVES US SORT OF WHERE WE ARE TONIGHT. UM, AND SO IN ADDITION TO THOSE ADJUSTMENTS THAT WERE MADE BACK ON MARCH 18TH, AND, UH, I DON'T THINK THE BOARD REALLY ACTED ON 'EM, BUT WE TALKED ABOUT 'EM AND THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE STILL INCLUDED IN THIS, BUT IN ADDITION TO THOSE, WE NEEDED TO COME UP WITH AN ADDITIONAL $482,610. AND THAT IS BASED ON, UM, A TOTAL LOCAL FUNDING UP TO THE SCHOOL BOARD OF $34,456,393, ALL OF THAT GOING TO THE OPERATING FUND BUDGET, EXCEPT FOR YOU MAY RECALL, WE HAD ASKED FOR [00:05:01] LOCAL FUNDING OF $200,000 FOR THE TEXTBOOK FUND. SO THEY DID FUND THAT. THAT'S WHY THAT FUND, UM, DID NOT GET ADJUSTED. SO, UM, WE'VE GONE THROUGH AND ADDED SOME RECENT REVISIONS, AND IF YOU'LL LOOK AT THE, I GUESS IT'S PROBABLY THE SECOND, UM, ATTACHMENT ON YOUR BOARD DOCS. THE FIRST IS THE ACTUAL, UM, APPROPRIATION RESOLUTION THAT THE COUNTY APPROVED, BUT THE SECOND ONE IS A SINGLE SHEET, AND IT JUST BASICALLY AT THE TOP SAYS FY 2027 BUDGET AND TODAY'S DATE. UM, IF EVERYBODY IS THERE OR SEES WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING FROM, UM, THE FIRST COLUMN THERE, AND WE'LL GO DOWN THROUGH IT ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENT FUNDS, STARTING WITH THE OPERATING, OBVIOUSLY THE MOST, UH, THE LARGEST AND THE ONE THAT, THAT CONTAINS THE MOST MONEY, OBVIOUSLY. UM, THE FIRST COLUMN SHOWS THE BUDGET THAT YOU ADOPTED BACK ON FEBRUARY THE 18TH. THE SECOND COLUMN SHOWS ALL OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO IT THAT HAVE HAPPENED SINCE THEN. AND, YOU KNOW, A BUDGET IS A LIVING DOCUMENT WHEN YOU ADOPT A BUDGET. IF YOU ADOPT A BUDGET TONIGHT, SOMETHING WILL CHANGE BETWEEN NOW AND PROBABLY JULY 1ST, EVEN WHEN WE ADOPT IT. AND THAT'S SOMETHING VERY WELL COULD BE. HOPEFULLY THE STATE WILL ADOPT A BUDGET. THE STATE DOES STILL NOT HAVE, UH, STILL DOES NOT HAVE A BUDGET ADOPTED. WE ARE GOING ON THE BEST INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE FROM THE STATE NOW, WHICH WAS INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET THAT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPROVED. BUT, UM, AS NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE, HOPEFULLY SOONER THAN LATER, WE'LL GET WORD FROM THE STATE ON WHAT OUR BUDGET IS AND EVERY OTHER COUNTY SCHOOL DIVISION MUNICIPALITY IN THE STATES IN THE SAME, UH, POSITION AS WE ARE. BUT WE'VE USED OUR BEST ESTIMATE RIGHT NOW OF WHERE WE THINK THAT'S GOING TO LAND. IF YOU LOOK AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF IT, WE HAVE STATE REVENUE, AND WE BUMPED THAT UP IN OUR PROJECTION BY $240,707. THE REASON FOR THAT IS THE STATE ORIGINALLY HAD PROPOSED A 2% SALARY INCENTIVE. THAT'S WHERE THEY GIVE THEIR QUOTE UNQUOTE FAIR SHARE TOWARDS AN INCREASE IN SALARIES FOR EMPLOYEES AT 2%. AND THE FINAL BUDGET, WELL, IT'S NOT THE FINAL BUDGET, THE BUDGET THAT'S ON THE FLOOR NOW IS AT 3%. SO THE STATE HAD TO CHIP IN SOME MORE MONEY TO BUMP IT FROM TWO TO THREE. AND OF COURSE, THAT ADDED, UH, WOULD ADD COST TO OUR SIDE, BUT IT DOES ADD REVENUE THERE. AND THEN WHEN YOU COME DOWN, UM, YOU SEE THE TOTAL COUNTY FUNDING AT, UH, $34,236,393. UM, THAT'S WHERE THEY ENDED UP WITH THEIR BUDGET. SO THAT LEAVES A TOTAL BUDGET OF $81,928,256. UM, WE HAD A PROPOSED BUDGET OF $82,627,213. SO THAT DOES NOT FULLY FUND THE EXPENDITURES THAT WERE APPROVED BACK IN, UM, FEBRUARY. SO WHAT WE HAD TO DO IS LOOK AT THINGS. THESE FIRST COUPLE I'LL GO THROUGH PRETTY QUICKLY, UM, BECAUSE THOSE ARE ONES WE TALKED ABOUT AT THE MARCH 28TH MEETING. BUT FOR A REFRESHER, WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO GET ABOUT A 12% HEALTH INSURANCE INCREASE, AND WE GOT A 23.7. SO THAT'S THAT FIRST NUMBER THAT TAKES US FROM THE 12% TO THE 23.7. THERE ARE NEW PROPOSED POSITIONS IN THE BUDGET. THEY'RE STILL IN THERE, THEY'RE ABSORBED POSITIONS IN THE BUDGET. UM, AND THOSE ARE STILL IN THERE AS, AS WE SPOKE ABOUT THEN. AND THERE WAS A POSITION ENHANCEMENT, WE'LL CALL IT, THAT'S STILL IN THERE. AND THEN WE LOOKED AT TRANSITIONING THREE OF OUR, UM, THREE POSITIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY FUNDED THROUGH TITLE GRANTS THAT ARE NON-CLASSROOM TEACHING ONES TO TRY TO TRANSITION THEM TO 50% BECAUSE WE SEE A REDUCTION IN FEDERAL REVENUE COMING, AND WE WANT TO MITIGATE THE IMPACT OF THAT REDUCTION ON WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE CLASSROOM. SO WE'RE SAYING LET'S START OUT AND TRY TO PICK UP HALF OF THOSE SALARIES HERE OUT OF LOCAL FUNDING. UM, I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF NEXT YEAR WE COME BACK AND SAY, OKAY, LET'S GO TO 75 OR A HUNDRED PERCENT. BUT WE DEFINITELY, UH, FEEL THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO KEEP THINGS GOING IN THE CLASSROOM WHERE WE, WHERE IT BENEFITS US THE GREATEST, OBVIOUSLY. UM, AND THEN, UM, WHEN WE LOOKED AT OUR SUBSTITUTE BUDGET AND MRS. DRAKE, UH, GRACIOUSLY [00:10:01] VOLUNTEERED TO REDUCE IT, IF YOU MAY RECALL, IT WAS AT $1.1 MILLION. UM, I THINK THE THINKING HERE IS THAT IS THE MARGIN OR WHATEVER THAT WAS BEING PAID TO A THIRD PARTY VENDOR. SO WE'RE TAKING IT FROM 1.1 MILLION DOWN TO 900,000, AND WE'LL BE WATCHING THAT AND HOPING THAT THAT MATERIALIZES. BUT THAT'S JUST ONE OF THE THINGS IN THE BUDGET. WE HAVE TO LOOK AT, UM, THE NEXT THREE ITEMS, AND THEY SORT OF ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN THERE. THOSE ARE NEW THINGS THAT WE HAVE NOT TALKED TO YOU ABOUT, AND WE'LL GO ON ONCE I JUMP THROUGH THOSE. AND DOWN HERE, THERE'S SOME SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS ON THE NEXT PAGE TO, UH, TELL YOU WHAT THOSE ARE. AND I MAY ASK FOR SOME HELP FROM DR. WRIGHT OR SOME OF OUR OTHER STAFF MEMBERS ON THOSE IF, UH, WITH THE QUESTIONS. BUT, UM, ONE OF THEM, WE LOOKED AT NEW POSITIONS AND ENHANCED POSITIONS AND FELT WE NEEDED TO MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS THERE BASED ON THE, UH, CIRCUMSTANCES THAT, THAT ARE FACING US TODAY. UM, WE ALSO LOOKED AT IT AND REALIZED WE HAD TO MAKE SOME CUTBACKS, AND THERE ARE SOME POSITIONS THAT ARE GONNA BE ABSORBED. THERE WILL PROBABLY BE SOME THAT ARE REPURPOSED IN THAT. SO THAT CREATED THE SAVINGS, AND THEN WHEN WE GOT TO THE VERY END ON THE HEALTH INSURANCE TO UH, UM, GET IT TO THE DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT'S NEEDED NOW, WE, UH, HAD TO ADD ANOTHER $179,283 INTO IT. UM, THAT WILL GIVE US, AND IT'LL DEPEND ON WHICH INSURANCE OPTION YOU TAKE TONIGHT. LATER IN THE MEETING, YOU'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT THAT. UM, THAT WILL ALLOW US TO HAVE A LITTLE EXTRA IN THE, POTENTIALLY A LITTLE EXTRA IN THE, UH, HEALTH INSURANCE BUDGET. BUT WE HAVE BEEN SEEING OUR PARTICIPATION OR ENROLLMENT IN THE PLANS INCREASE OVER THE YEARS. AND IF WE DON'T HAVE SOMETHING IN THERE, THEN WE'RE IN TROUBLE. IF ONE OR TWO MORE PEOPLE SIGN UP, THAT CAN BE A SWING OF $20,000 PER PERSON, DEPENDING ON THE PLAN AND THE TIER THAT THEY TAKE. SO, UM, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT IN THERE, AND QUITE HONESTLY, THAT WAS THE AMOUNT WHEN WE DID EVERYTHING. IT CAME OUT THAT WE WERE A LITTLE BIT OVER ON THE BUDGET INSTEAD OF BEING SHORT AND WE PUT IT IN THERE, THAT CAN BE CHANGED, BUT THAT'S WHERE IT SITS AS OF THIS MOMENT. THE CAFETERIA FUND, AS I MENTIONED, THAT'S ALL STATE AND FEDERAL AND, UM, WHAT, UH, FEES THAT ARE COLLECTED, UH, FROM STAFF OR STUDENTS FOR A LA CARD ITEMS, THAT BUDGET REMAINED THE SAME. THE TEXTBOOK BUDGET, IT REMAINED THE SAME, BUT JUST AS A REMINDER, WE ARE THIS YEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME, WELL, SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, ABLE TO MOVE 420 400, $12,720 FROM THE OPERATING BUDGET THAT THE STATE GIVES US FOR TEXTBOOKS TO THE TEXTBOOK FUNDS WHERE IT CAN BE USED EXCLUSIVELY FOR TEXTBOOKS. THE STATE DOES ALLOW US, AND WE HAVEN'T BEEN OUTTA COMPLIANCE IN THE PAST, BUT IT DOES ALLOW US TO USE THAT MONEY FOR OTHER THINGS LIKE CONSUMABLES AND THINGS LIKE THAT IN THE CLASSROOM. AND WE MEET AND EXCEED THAT REQUIREMENT. BUT THIS WAY IT'S GOING DIRECTLY FOR TEXTBOOKS. AND I THINK THE GOOD THING ABOUT THIS IS IF THE COUNTY'S GOT 200,000 IN THEIR BUDGET, WE'VE GOT 400,000. IT'LL BE A LOT EASIER TO KEEP THAT IN NEXT YEAR THAN THE PUSH TO GET IT IN THIS YEAR. SO TH THIS I THINK IS A, A MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT IN THE BUDGET THAT GIVES US A SUSTAINABLE SOURCE FOR SOMETHING THAT OBVIOUSLY IS VERY IMPORTANT WHEN, WHEN YOU'RE IN EDUCATION TEXTBOOKS. UM, THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND, IT WAS REQUESTED AT 1,000,235. NOW, ORIGINALLY IT WAS REQUESTED WITH, UM, LOCAL FUNDING. WE DID NOT GET THE LOCAL FUNDING FOR THAT. BUT WHEN THE BUDGET WAS ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THERE'S A, UM, ONE TIME FLEXIBLE SPENDING DOLLAR AMOUNT IN THERE OF ABOUT $1.6 MILLION. WE CAN'T BE A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE THAT'LL BE THERE WHEN THEY FINALIZE THE BUDGET, BUT OUR HOPE IS THAT AT LEAST 1.235 MILLION OF IT, WE'LL BE IN THE BUDGET WHEN THE STATE DOES IT. AND WE WILL USE THAT FOR WHAT IT'S INTENDED, ONE TIME EXPENDITURES, WHICH ARE THOSE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT, UH, DR. COSTNER HAS TALKED TO YOU ABOUT ON THE LIST OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS. SO WHEN ALL SAID AND DONE, WE WOULD HAVE A TOTAL REVENUE PROJECTED OF $87,973,543, AND WE WOULD HAVE PROJECTED EXPENSES OF THAT SAME AMOUNT. SO I'LL STOP THERE AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT, UM, AND, AND WHAT WE'LL DO NEXT IS WE'LL GO INTO THOSE SPECIFIC ITEMS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT PARTICULARLY WELL IN THE OPERATING [00:15:01] BUDGET, THAT, UM, ARE GONNA REQUIRE SOME ADJUSTMENT AND CONSIDERATION BY YOU TO TONIGHT IF, IF YOU'RE INCLINED TO ADOPT A BUDGET TONIGHT. SO I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU. YOU MENTIONED, UH, IN THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND SAYING WE GOT THIS 1, 2, 3, 5 FROM THE, FROM THE STATE, THE ONE TIME SPENDING, BUT WE USED THE LINE, YOU SAID WE DIDN'T GET LOCAL FUNDING FOR THAT. DO WE NORMALLY GET LOCAL FUNDING FOR THAT? TYPICALLY, WHAT HAS HAPPENED, UH, THIS PA THIS CURRENT YEAR RATHER THE STATE OF THE COUNTY HAS FUNDED US FOR, UH, SOME DIFFERENT PROJECTS, THE CARPET REPLACEMENT AND SOME OF THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS. AND THAT WAS FROM LOCAL FUNDING. UM, WE HAVE NOT DONE A LOT WITH THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS PRIOR TO THAT. IT WOULD BE FUNDED LOCALLY AND IT WOULD BE FUNDED WITH CARRYOVER FROM THE PRIOR YEAR. BUT AS YOU'RE AWARE, WE DON'T HAVE AUDITS FROM THE PRIOR YEARS RECENTLY TO BE ABLE TO SAY, OKAY, CAN WE HAVE THAT APPROPRIATED TO THIS? SO WE HAVEN'T, AND DURING THE, UH, THE CARES ACT OR WHATEVER IT WAS CALLED, UM, WE DID RECEIVE SOME FEDERAL FUNDING THAT WE WERE ABLE TO USE ON LFK. SO OTHER THAN THAT, PRETTY MUCH ALL OF OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS OR LOCALLY FUNDED, BUT THIS TIME IT WILL BE STATE FUNDED FROM THAT ONE TIME, UM, FLEXIBLE SPENDING. AND SO, AND, AND THE MEALS TAX MONEY WOULD GO TOWARD, WAS THEORETICALLY DESIGNED TO GO TOWARDS THAT AS WELL. IT WOULD, IT WOULD GO TOWARDS SCHOOL CAPITAL PROJECTS, AND CERTAINLY THESE ARE CAPITAL SCHOOL CAPITAL PROJECTS. AND SO RIGHT NOW THERE, THERE'S A DISCUSSION OVER HOW THAT'S ALL GONNA WORK FOR THIS COMING YEAR. HOW DO WE, WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IF WE MAKE AN AGREEMENT THAT WE WILL GET A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE, OF THE MEALS TAX OR THAT WE HAVE THREE MOUS AND, AND YOU KNOW, DISCUSSION BY WHOEVER, BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO DECIDE ON, IF THEY DECIDE ON IT AND SAY, YOU DO GET ALL YOUR LEFTOVER MONEY, OR THEY SAY YOU'LL GET A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE, OF THE TAX MEALS TAX MONEY. HOW, HOW DOES THAT AFFECT OUR BUDGET? HOW DOES THAT AFFECT US? WELL, IT, IT COULD AFFECT US IN A COUPLE WAYS. ONE IS WE COULD TAKE THAT ONE TIME FLEXIBLE SPENDING AND FIND OTHER ONE TIME THINGS TO DO WITH IT, OR WE COULD TAKE THIS ADDITIONAL LOCAL MONEY, WHETHER IT BE MEALS TAX OR CARRYOVER OR A COMBINATION. AND I SUSPECT DR. COSTNER COULD COME UP WITH SOME CAPITAL PROJECTS, MAYBE LIKE ROOFS AND ALL KINDS OF THINGS. BUT, UH, YEAH, SO THAT IT, IT, IT WOULD BE UP TO THE BOARD OBVIOUSLY, BUT YOU COULD EITHER DECIDE, OKAY, LET'S TAKE THIS STATE MONEY AND USE IT FOR SOMETHING ELSE. OR YOU COULD SAY, LET'S LEAVE THE STATE MONEY THERE IF WE GET IT AND USE IT FOR OUR CAPITAL PLAN FOR THIS YEAR, AND THEN TAKE THAT ADDITIONAL LOCAL MONEY THAT'S CAPITAL, UM, EARMARKED AND USE IT FOR ANY OTHER PROJECTS. AND, AND I THINK, UH, WE HAVE A LONG LIST OF THOSE AND WOULDN'T BE HARD TO FIND USES FOR IT. I THINK THE GOAL COMING OUT OF THIS FOR OUR BOARD IS TO HAVE SORT OF A SAVINGS ACCOUNT STARTED AT SOME POINT FOR CIP AND TEXTBOOKS. SO WE CAN'T COUNT ON ANY OF THAT RIGHT NOW. WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE MONEY THAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US, BUT YEAH, THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE GOT THAT. 'CAUSE THEN WE WOULD HAVE OUR LITTLE SAVINGS ACCOUNT GROWING RIGHT AWAY. RIGHT. AND IF IT WEREN'T PRUDENT TO SPEND IT NEXT YEAR, IF THAT'S WHEN IT CAME, THEN CERTAINLY IT COULD CARRY OVER FOR A LARGER PROJECT IF THERE WERE ONE IN A FUTURE YEAR OR, OR HOWEVER IT FITS. BUT YEAH. OKAY. THAT WOULD BE THE TWO OPTIONS I WOULD SEE THAT WE COULD DO WITH IT. EITHER PULL THE STATE MONEY AND PLUG IT IN WHERE THE STATE MONEY WAS, OR IF IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO COVER ALL THE STATE MONEY, THEN PLUG IT IN AND USE SOME OF THE STATE MONEY AND THEN USE THE REST OF THE STATE MONEY FOR OTHER NEEDS. THAT I'M SURE WOULD BE PRETTY EASY TO IDENTIFY. YEAH. YEAH. WE JUST HAD OUR FACILITIES COMMITTEE MEETING LAST NIGHT AND WE'RE CERTAINLY BEHIND ON REPLACING ROOFS MORE THAN JUST ONE ROOF. UM, WE LEARNED ABOUT CHILLERS THAT ARE, ARE NOT RIGHT THIS INSTANT, BUT GOING TO NEED TO BE REPLACED. UM, BUT I THINK WHAT WAS MOST CONCERNING TO ME THAT I FOUND OUT YESTERDAY WAS, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DEFINITIVELY SECURE THIS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT MONEY, UM, THEY CAN'T PUT THE ROOF FOR HILDA OUT TO BID BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE IF WE'RE GETTING STATE MONEY. WE DON'T KNOW NOW FOR SURE IF WE'RE GETTING THE MEALS TAX MONEY. SO THAT IS A JOB THAT HAS TO BE DONE OVER THE SUMMER. AND SO NOW WE'RE FACING ANOTHER YEAR WITH A ROOF THAT IS BADLY LEAKING AND THAT'S GONNA END UP COSTING US POTENTIALLY MORE MONEY [00:20:01] AS DAMAGE IS DONE FROM THOSE, FROM THOSE LEAKS. SO, UM, I KNOW, I I WASN'T HAPPY. I KNOW YOU WEREN'T HAPPY WITH THE OUTCOME YESTERDAY EITHER. UM, BUT WELL, I DID, I WILL, UH, ON THIS WHOLE TOPIC, DR. PENCE AND I MET WITH, WITH SOME MEMBERS OF THE, THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS THE OTHER DAY TO TALK ABOUT THESE MOUS. THERE'S THREE MOUS OUT THERE. ONE IS FOR THE LUMP SUM SUM FUNDING, LUMP SUM FUNDING. ONE IS FOR THE, UM, MEALS TAX GOING TO US MEALS TAX MONEY COMING TO US. AND THE THIRD ONE IS THE, UH, UH, UH, CARRYOVER, RIGHT? MM-HMM . AND SO WE HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT WHERE ARE WE ON THESE THINGS, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO? 'CAUSE IT'LL AFFECT OUR BUDGET BIG TIME ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. IF WE GET A, A GOOD ANSWER AND THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT 'EM ALL, THEY SEEM TO BE UP TO DATE UP, YOU KNOW, I'M KINDA ON BOARD WITH SAYING, WE'LL ACCEPT IT. THE, THE LUMP SUM FUNDING SEEMS OKAY AND THE CAT, YOU KNOW, GOING TO, TO, UH, CARRY OVER SEEMS A GOOD IDEA. THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF PROBLEM WITH THE MEALS TAX IN THAT THEY HAVE DIFFERENT ISSUES IN PLACE THAT, UM, THEIR ATTORNEY WAS GIVING US SOME INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT, WHAT'S ON THE TABLE. SO THEY, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE GETTING BACK TO US SOMETIMES SOON ABOUT IT, BUT THEY WERE SAYING THEY, THEY'RE HOPEFUL THEY CAN GIVE US THE A HUNDRED PERCENT GOING INTO THIS YEAR, BUT THERE'S SOME THINGS STILL UP IN THE AIR ABOUT IT THAT, UM, THEY'RE WORKING ON. SO IT WAS A GOOD LITTLE MEETING, I THOUGHT. RIGHT. AND, UH, IT WAS GOOD TO GET SOME INSIGHT INTO WHAT WE'RE DOING, BUT, UM, WE WERE, WE WERE PRETTY ADAMANT AT THE SING, THAT'S GREAT, YOU HAVE YOUR ISSUES, BUT WE WANT A HUNDRED PERCENT BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE VOTERS VOTED FOR. SO THAT'S WHAT'RE WE'RE TRYING TO DO. SO THERE'S STILL, THERE COULD BE SOME MOVEMENT ON THAT, EVEN FOR THIS YEAR, SEEMINGLY. YEAH. FOR THE DILEMMA, MRS. ALAN'S PRESENTED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO GET IT OUT TO BID AND GET IT DONE THIS SUMMER BECAUSE IT'S GONNA COST MORE IF YOU DO IT THE FOLLOWING SUMMER NO MATTER WHAT. AND THEN IT'S GONNA HAVE DAMAGE. BUT, UH, THE BEST THING IN MY MIND THAT COULD HAPPEN IS THE STATE APPROVE A BUDGET, HAVE THAT MONEY IN THERE, AND THEN WE'RE GOOD TO GO THEN. BUT THAT'S SORT OF BEYOND OUR CONTROL ALSO. RIGHT? YEAH. SO THAT BRINGS UP A QUESTION THAT I HAVE, UM, MAYBE DR. WRIGHT, YOU MIGHT HAVE TO HELP ME ANSWER IT, BUT, UM, IN ONE OF THE BUDGET MEETINGS THAT I'D SET IN FOR THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, AND ONE REASON I WAS LATE, I HAD MET MR. HENRY AND WE WERE DISCUSSING THIS, WAS THAT IT WAS UNDER HIS IMPRESSION THAT THE 1.2 MILLION THEY WERE GONNA PAY OUT OF THE FUND BALANCE TO DO THE ROOF. IT WAS, UM, IT WAS TWO ROOFS FOR US AND TWO ROOFS FOR THE COUNTY. AND AND HE'S STILL UNDER THAT IMPRESSION THAT, THAT THAT'S WHAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN. BUT THEN TODAY, I, I HEARD FROM ANOTHER ONE THAT, THAT WE HAD, THAT WE HAD TOLD THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS THAT WE WERE GETTING 1.2 MILLION. SO I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED IS, ARE WE GETTING 1.2 OR WERE THEY GONNA TAKE IT OUTTA THE FUND BALANCE? AND I'M NOT, NOT MYSELF AND MR. HENRY ARE CONFUSED ABOUT THAT BECAUSE HE, HE SAID UNDER, UNDER THE LAST THING THAT THEY HAD TALKED ABOUT, THAT THEY WERE GONNA TAKE THE 1.2 AND FIX TWO OF OUR ROOFS. SO WHERE DID THAT CHANGE? SO I THINK THIS, THIS PROBABLY CAME FROM, UM, WHEN WE WERE ASKED TO REDUCE OUR BUDGET, AND THAT'S WHEN WE SAID WE COULD TAKE THE 1.2 MILLION FROM OUR FLEXIBLE SPENDING AND PUT THAT TOWARDS OUR CURRENT CAPITAL NEEDS, WHICH WAS THE ROOF AT SKYLINE AUXILIARY BUILDING THE ROOF AT HILL TO J AND THREE SCHOOL BUSES THAT WOULD COVER THAT. SO IF, IF THE STATE MONEY HOLDS UP, WHICH IT'S CURRENTLY STILL IN THE BUDGET, THEN WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH THOSE THREE PROJECTS. I DO NOT KNOW THAT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN IN THERE AT ONE TIME, BUT IT WAS REDUCED. AND THAT WAS THE REDUCTION THAT, THAT WE MADE. YEAH, THEY TOOK IT, THEY TOOK THE 1.2 OUT, BUT I WAS SPECIFICALLY REMEMBERING THE MEETING THAT DR. MARTIN HAD SUGGESTED THAT THEY TAKE THE 1.2 OUT OF THEIR FUND BALANCE TO REPAIR THE TWO ROOFS. WE NEED IT DONE. AND, AND I WAS, I THINK I WAS AT THAT MEETING AND THAT WAS A DISCUSSION. UH, THEY, THEY CERTAINLY DISCUSSED IT. I DON'T THINK THAT WAS EVER ACTED ON. 'CAUSE MR. HENRY TOLD ME A LITTLE WHILE AGO THAT HE WAS STILL UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT THAT WAS GONNA BE THE, THAT WAS GONNA BE THE CASE. OKAY. WELL, THAT, BUT I, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW. THAT WOULD BE, WOULD BE HELPFUL. GOOD NEWS IF IT IS. THAT'S POSSIBLY, YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY, WELL, COULD WE GET THEM TO, TO GO AHEAD AND DO IT, AGREE TO, IF YOU DON'T GET THE 1.2 FROM THE STATE, WE WILL GIVE YOU THE 1.2 FROM OUR FUNDING AND THEN POSSIBLY GO AHEAD AND PUT THIS PROJECT OUT FOR BID AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. YEAH, AND I DON'T THINK THIS PROJECT THEN, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, I DON'T THINK THE PROJECT'S THE ONE, WELL, THE PROJECT ISN'T THE 1.2 MILLION, [00:25:01] IT'S LESS THAN THAT. AND IF THAT'S THE URGENT ITEM, THEN MAYBE WE'D WANT TO LOOK AT WHAT THE ESTIMATED COST OF IT IS AND, AND GO FORWARD. WELL, I THINK THEY ANTICIPATING CHANGING IN DOING HILDA J BARBER. MM-HMM . AND E WILSON MORRISON. THAT WAS WHAT WE HAD JUST DISCUSSED. OKAY. I, YEAH, I WOULD DEFINITELY ASK IF THEY COULD, YOU KNOW, GIVE US A GUARANTEE SO THAT WE CAN AT LEAST TAKE HILDA OUT BID AS SOON AS POSSIBLE JUST BECAUSE THE CLOCK'S TICKING AND WE NEED TO GET, WOULD NEED TO GET THAT PROJECT STARTED PRETTY QUICKLY AFTER STUDENTS LEAVE. YEAH. THANKS. AND THEN I HAVE ONE OTHER THING. UM, SO JUST ROUGH NUMBERS. WE WERE, WE ORIGINALLY, OUR ASK WAS THE EIGHT, THEN THEY DROPPED US TO 5.5, CORRECT? MM-HMM . AND THEN FROM THE 5.5, THEY DROPPED US DOWN TO THE 5 MILLION, BASICALLY EVEN. SO, SO THE CONVERSATION THAT I JUST HAD WAS THAT NO ONE ON THE BOARD WAS AWARE. THEY DROPPED US THE OTHER $5 MILLION, FIVE, $500,000. UM, I WAS JUST TOLD THAT THEY HAD NO IDEA THAT THAT WAS DONE AND THAT SOMEBODY SHOULD HAVE TOLD US, UM, BECAUSE HE SAID THAT PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN CHANGED. I, I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING. JUST TRYING TO FIGURE, I'M JUST, THERE'S A DISCONNECT SOMEWHERE. YES. AND I DON'T, I'D LIKE TO TRY TO CORRECT THOSE DISCONNECTS, UM, AGAIN, WHERE COMMUNICATION IS KEY. UM, THE UNFORTUNATE PART ABOUT IT FOR ME, AND I'M NOT, I'M NOT TRYING TO BE A BUTTHEAD HERE AT ALL, IS I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE FIVE, FIVE DOWN TO FIVE OH TILL I READ IT IN THE PAPER. IT WAS KIND OF A SHOCK TO ME. REMEMBER I CALLED YOU AND I SAID, HEY, WAIT A MINUTE. I JUST READ THIS, WHAT HAPPENED? SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED THERE. HOW DID WE LOSE, HOW DID WE LOSE ANOTHER 300 AND SOME THOUSAND DOLLARS? I ASSUMED IT WAS BECAUSE THEY WENT FROM THEIR 10% OR THEIR 10 CENTS TO THEIR NINE TO 9 CENTS, AND SO THEY HAD TO CUT EVERYBODY JUST A LITTLE BIT. UM, BUT I THINK MAYBE IT WAS GONE BEFORE THAT BECAUSE THEY, I THINK IT WAS GONE BEFORE THAT. I THINK THEY FUNDED THE TENCENT, THEY FUNDED 9 CENTS OF IT THROUGH TAXES. I THINK IT WAS BEFORE THAT 1 CENTS THROUGH THEIR FUND BALANCE. UM, I THINK PART OF IT WAS THAT WE WERE TOLD BY THE COUNTY THAT THEY WERE GOING TO ADJUST OURS A HALF A PENNY, WHICH IS 375,000 OR SOMETHING. AND THEN THERE MAY HAVE BEEN AN ERROR SOMEWHERE THAT WAS 109,000 OR SOMETHING. UH, DR. WRIGHT MAY HAVE A BETTER MEMORY ON THAT. SO THERE WAS THE, UM, THE POSITION FOR THE COUNTY OF, UM, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATOR THAT THEY WANTED THE SCHOOLS TO TAKE A CUT FOR, WHICH WE WERE TOLD THEY WOULD TAKE SOME, MAYBE A HALF A PENNY TO HELP WITH THAT PROPOSAL. UH, AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS, UH, WOULD HAVE TO CONTRIBUTE SOME FROM THEIR BUDGET TO THAT AS WELL. UH, THERE WAS AN ERROR, UH, IN, IN BUDGET, WHICH, AND THAT WAS ABOUT 109,000 I DO BELIEVE. UH, AND I DON'T, THOSE ARE THE TWO, TWO REDUCTIONS THAT MUCH. THAT COUNTY, THE COUNTY, THE, UM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION, I THINK AN ERROR IN THERE, BUDGET IN THE AD. THEY PUT IN THE PAPER. WHEN I, WHEN I WAS TALKING TO MR. HENRY ABOUT IT, HE SAID, WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE CUT YOU A SECOND TIME? I SAID, YEAH. I SAID, I GOT CUT. I SAID, WE GOT CUT A SECOND TIME. HE SAID, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THAT. HE SAID, WHO, WHO DID THAT? I SAID, WELL, I GUESS YOUR STAFF DID. BUT I SAID, IT CERTAINLY, IT CERTAINLY HAS NOT HELPED US A BIT. HE SAID, WELL, WE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN ABOUT IT, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW ABOUT IT. SO I'M JUST SAYING WE, THAT THOSE KIND OF CONVERSATIONS HAVE GOT TO, WE'VE GOT TO CONTINUE TO HAVE. UM, BUT THAT'S ALL I GOTTA SAY. I JUST, I WAS JUST CURIOUS. SO THE FINAL ATTACHMENT IS THE DETAIL SHOWING THE POSITIONS, THE COSTS AND ALL THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, ALL PERTAINING TO THE OPERATING BUDGET TO BRING US, UM, INTO BALANCE ON OUR EXPENDITURE SIDE OF THE BUDGET [00:30:01] WITH WHAT THE PROJECTED REVENUE IS. UM, THE FIRST PAGE OF THAT ARE ALL THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT ON MARCH 28TH. SO THEY'RE THERE. UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON 'EM OR NEED A REFRESHER ON ANY OF THEM, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING, UM, I OR DR. WRIGHT OR SOMEONE FROM STAFF CAN, UH, TALK TO THOSE FOR YOU. AND IF NOT, WE CAN ALWAYS COME BACK WHEN WE GET ON THE SECOND PAGE. IF THAT BRINGS SOMETHING UP ON THE FIRST PAGE, WE CAN ALWAYS JUMP BACK. THE SECOND PAGE IS ACTUALLY WHAT WE ARE IS NEW BEFORE YOU TONIGHT. AND, UM, THE VERY FIRST THING, THERE ARE A COUPLE, UM, THEY'RE REALLY NOT NEW FULL-TIME POSITIONS, BUT THEY'RE ENHANCEMENTS, IF YOU WANT TO CALL IT THAT, TO EXISTING POSITIONS. UM, OUR ATHLETIC TRAINERS AT EACH SCHOOL TEACH A COURSE IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING THOSE SERVICES TO OUR ATHLETES, UM, DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR. AND THE WAY WE CALCULATE THAT IS, UM, BY USING ONE EIGHTH, THEY'LL KEEP, THEY'LL TEACH ONE BLOCK FOR THE WHOLE YEAR. SO THAT'S REALLY ONE EIGHTH OF THE COURSES THAT A TEACHER WOULD TEACH. SO WE TAKE ONE EIGHTH OF THEIR SALARY AND PUT IT IN THERE AND RUN THE BENEFITS ACROSS, AND IT COMES OUT TO THOSE AMOUNTS SHOWN THERE. UM, THE TRUANCY OFFICER WE'RE REQUESTING TO INCREASE IT FROM 10 MONTHS TO 12 MONTHS. AND, UH, CURRENTLY ONE ALREADY IS 12 MONTHS. THIS WOULD INCREASE THE SECOND ONE TO 12 MONTHS BECAUSE THE COURTS DON'T STOP IN THE SUMMER WHEN THEY'RE OFF AND THEY'RE ENDING UP HAVING TO DO A LOT OF THAT WORK IN THE SUMMER AND, AND PREP WORK AND, AND FOLLOW UP WORK AND THINGS LIKE THAT. UM, THE TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION COACH, UM, INCREASING FROM 10 TO 12 MONTHS. AND THAT IS BECAUSE LATER ON HERE WE'LL TALK ABOUT, UM, NOT REFILLING THE TESTING COORDINATOR POSITION FOR A SAVINGS, BUT WE NEED SOME HELP IN PROVIDING THOSE TESTING SERVICES. AND IT'S A YEAR ROUND JOB. SO WE WOULD BUMP ONE OF THE, UH, TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION COACHES, UH, FROM 10 TO 12 MONTH. AND DR. WRIGHT, IF I HAVEN'T EXPLAINED THEM PROPERLY, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO, TO ADD AS, AS NECESSARY OR CORRECT AS NECESSARY. SO, AND THESE I WILL ASK FOR HELP ON, BECAUSE I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND EXACTLY ALL THE CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT, UM, THERE'S A FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCE TEACHER AT WARREN COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL THAT IS RECOMMENDED WE NOT FILL THAT POSITION. IT'S IN THE ORIGINAL BUDGET. THE TESTING COORDINATOR, I DID MENTION THAT. AND THOSE DUTIES ARE GOING TO BE SPLIT UP AMONGST OTHER STAFF AND HOPEFULLY WITH INCREASING THE, UH, TECHNOLOGY COACH 10 TO 12 MONTHS, THAT WILL HELP US IN BEING ABLE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THAT POSITION. UH, THERE'S A PRE-K TEACHER AT RESI JEFFRIES, AND, UM, I'M NOT REAL FLUENT ON THE, UH, CIRCUMSTANCES THERE. IF THERE NEEDS TO BE AN EXPLANATION, AND THAT WAS A POSITION THAT, THAT WAS NOT FILLED, AND WE'RE GOING TO, WE WILL NOT FILL IT. WE DO NOT NEED IT. SO WE WILL ABSORB THAT POSITION AND THE PRE-K TEACHERS WILL BE TRANSFERRED WITHIN OR THE, UM, INSTRUCTIONAL A, I THINK WILL BE, THAT MIGHT BE, THAT'S THE NEXT ITEM. YEAH, THAT'S THE NEXT ITEM. THE INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANT INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS WILL BE, UM, TRANSFERRED, DISSOLVED, BUT THE, THE POSITION WILL BE DISSOLVED. THE PEOPLE WILL BE TRANSFERRED. YEAH. AND THEN, UH, YOU MAY RECALL WE STARTED, UH, YOU APPROVED A PROGRAM WHERE WE WOULD HAVE TWO, UM, PSYCHOLOGIST INTERNS, AND THEY WOULD EACH BE PAID $30,000 A YEAR. AND, UM, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO FIND A PERSON FOR ONE OF 'EM AND, UH, ARE THINKING THAT WE'LL GO WITH ONE THIS YEAR. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THE PROGRAM NEEDS TO GROW IT, IT'LL GIVE US OPPORTUNITIES IN FUTURE YEARS. UM, THE, UM, A A ADDITIONAL, UM, BCBA OR BOARD CERTIFIED BEHAVIOR ANALYST, THAT POSITION WOULD BE A NEW POSITION. AND AT THIS POINT WE'RE RECOMMENDING, UM, PULLING THAT FROM THE LIST OF NEW POSITIONS. [00:35:01] UH, ALSO WE HAVE A SYSTEMS TECH IN THERE, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE FOCUSES WOULD BE, UH, NETWORK SECURITY AND THINGS. AND WE KEEP GETTING, UH, EVERY DAY ALMOST PHISHING AND ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT YOU READ ABOUT, UH, ARE HAPPENING, UM, TO SAVE SOME MONEY. WHAT WE'VE PROPOSED AND, UH, WOULD LOOK AT IS INSTEAD OF HIRING THAT POSITION JULY 1ST, HIRING AT JANUARY 1ST, WHICH WOULD SAVE YOU HALF A YEAR'S WORTH OF SALARY, THE DRAWBACK, AND I'LL TELL YOU THIS UPFRONT, IS THAT NEXT YEAR WHEN WE DO OUR BUDGET, THERE'LL BE HALF OF A SALARY THAT'S NOT THERE THAT WILL HAVE TO COME OUT IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET. SO IT WILL SORT OF DIG A SMALL HOLE OR A DIVOT ANYWAY FOR US TO START NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET. BUT TO GET THIS CRITICALLY NEEDED POSITION, WE FELT MAYBE THIS WAS A COMPROMISE IN A WAY TO DO THAT. AND THEN WE HAVE SOME READING SPECIALIST POSITIONS THAT HAVE GONE UNFILLED, AND I THINK THE, UM, OUTLOOK OF FILLING THEM IS NOT ALL THAT GREAT. SO INSTEAD OF LEAVING THOSE IN THERE, HAVING MONEY DESIGNATED FOR SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T HAVE A REAL EXPECTATION WE'LL BE ABLE TO FILL, WE'RE LOOKING AT PULLING THOSE OUT WHEN YOU DO ALL THOSE THINGS THAT WHEN THEY'RE PLUGGED IN HELPS US, OR IT BALANCES OUR BUDGET FOR US FOR NEXT YEAR. AGAIN, PROVIDED THE STATE BUDGET GETS APPROVED AT THE LEVEL, AND, AND LET'S FACE IT, IF IT GETS APPROVED AT A HIGHER LEVEL, THEN THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL. BUT AGAIN, UH, WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE. SO THAT IS AN OVERVIEW OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN, WHERE WE ARE, AND WHERE WE'D LIKE TO GO. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I OR SOMEONE HERE I'M SURE CAN DO THEIR BEST TO ANSWER THEM. I WOULD, I WOULD IMAGINE DR. WRIGHT OBVIOUSLY LED THIS, THIS DISCUSSION ABOUT IT, BUT I JUST WANNA KNOW, WAS THERE A LOT OF BUY-IN? THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION FROM THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS WHO OBVIOUSLY WERE GETTING CUT OR, OR MINIMIZED IN SOME WAYS. IS IT, IS, WAS IT, OBVIOUSLY, I'M SURE THERE'S SOME DUKING IT OUT AT TIMES AS, AS ALL THINGS, BUT WAS, IT WAS A VERY, UH, COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION. UM, BUT WE, WE WERE ALL A PART OF THE CONVERSATION AND, UH, I THINK IT, I THINK EVERYONE APPRECIATED BEING, UM, HAVING A VOICE AT THE TABLE, UM, FOR THEIR DEPARTMENT AND THEIR TEACHERS AND STAFF, UM, AND, UH, AND DEPARTMENTS THEY SUPERVISE. AND, UH, I THINK EVERYONE CONTRIBUTED, UH, AT SOME POINT, UH, OR DONATED OR, BUT MADE . YEAH. OR, OR HAD SOME REALLY GOOD SUGGESTIONS. SO IT WAS, IT WAS REALLY GOOD CONVERSATION. WE ALSO WORKED WITH SOME OF OUR PRINCIPALS, UM, AND, AND YOU KNOW, THOSE CAN SOMETIMES BE A LITTLE, A LITTLE MORE, UH, DIFFICULT BECAUSE ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ABSORBED POSITIONS, UH, AND THEY MAY HAVE MORE CREATIVE IDEAS. SO, AND I'VE, I, I WAS THAT PERSON, SO I, I, I TOTALLY GET IT. BUT I THINK WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THE IDEA IS, UH, THAT OUR, ARE, WE HAVE GREAT EMPLOYEES, BUT THEY GET ATTACHED TO A SCHOOL. BUT WE ARE, WE ARE A DIVISION AND WE NEED TO MAKE DECISIONS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE DIVISION AND WHAT'S BEST FOR OUR STUDENTS. SO I THINK ULTIMATELY, UH, SOME, SOME MOVING AROUND AND AND ABSORBING, BUT I THINK AS LONG AS THERE'S, UH, A, WE LOOK AT THE NUMBERS AND WE LOOK AT THE DATA AND WE, AND TAKING THE TIME TO TALK THROUGH IT WITH OUR, WITH OUR PRINCIPALS, I THINK THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, UH, THAT WE'RE TAKING THAT TIME SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND AS WELL. AND WE'RE NOT JUST MAKING A DECISION. THEY NEED TO BE A PART OF THAT DECISION AS WELL. SO, UM, I THINK IF WE DO THOSE STEPS, UH, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE BUY-IN WHEN WE DIDN'T GO THROUGH ALL THE STEPS AND THE COMMUNICATION WASN'T THERE, WE GOT, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME CONCERN AND LIKE, AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, LIKELY CONCERNED THAT WE NEEDED TO, UH, DO A BETTER JOB OF COMMUNICATING. SO, BUT, UH, ALL IN ALL, UM, NOT THE PROCESS WE WANT TO BE IN AND, AND ABSORBING AND CUTTING POSITIONS, BUT, UH, THAT'S JUST WHERE WE ARE AT THIS POINT. AND I THINK WE'RE DOING SO STRATEGICALLY, UH, IN A WAY THAT IS BALANCED AND WITHOUT, UM, WITHOUT ACTUALLY HAVING TO PINK SLIP, UH, OR ANY TEACH ANY TEACHER. SO REALLY THROUGH ATTRITION AND, AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT THUS FAR. SO THAT'S, THAT IS A GOOD NEW, VERY GOOD NEWS. THANK YOU. YES, I, I WOULD CERTAINLY AGREE WITH WHAT DR. WRIGHT SAID. AND, AND ALSO SAY THAT, UM, THIS HAS BEEN A MUCH MORE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS THAN WE HAVE HAD IN, IN RECENT TIMES. AND, UH, AS FAR AS MR. KLEIN'S COMMENT ABOUT COMMUNICATION, I THINK THAT'S THE KEY THAT, UH, DR. WRIGHT HAS COMMUNICATED. AND, AND THE THING IS, AT LEAST IF YOU EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE WHY YOU'RE DOING THINGS OR WHY SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE, THEY STILL MAY NOT AGREE OR BE COMFORTABLE. NOBODY WANTS TO GIVE UP ANYTHING, BUT, UM, AT LEAST IF THEY UNDERSTAND WHY AND THAT IT'S A [00:40:01] PART OF THE GREATER GOOD OF THE DIVISION, THEN MAYBE IT MAKES IT A LITTLE EASIER, A LITTLE BETTER TO DO. AND, AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT'S EXISTED THIS YEAR, AND THAT'S JUST ME SPEAKING FOR, FOR MYSELF. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR MR. VALENTINE ON THIS PART? DOES ANYONE WANNA MAKE A MOTION ON THAT? DO WE NEED TO, TO DO THE SCALES AND THE BENEFITS FIRST OR WE'RE GOOD TO GO ON? THAT'S WHAT APPROVING IT AS IT, I, I, I THINK YOU PROBABLY SHOULD APPROVE THE BUDGET FIRST BECAUSE THEN THAT GIVES YOU THE MONEY TO DO THE SALARIES AND BENEFIT THE SALARY SCALES AND THE BENEFITS, UM, ONCE YOU HAVE A BUDGET THAT YOU'VE APPROVED. SO THAT'S WHY I SORT OF IN THAT ORDER OF APPROVE THE BUDGET AND THE MONEY'S THERE, THEN YOU CAN DECIDE BASICALLY HOW TO SPEND IT. OKAY. I MOVE THAT THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE PREVIOUSLY ADOPTED FISCAL YEAR 2027 BUDGET BE APPROVED AS PRESENTED, RESULTING IN A TOTAL APPROVED BUDGET OF $88,672,500 CONSISTENT CONSISTED OF AN OPERATING FUND BUDGET OF $82,000,627 AND 200, 220 $7,213 CAFETERIA FUND BUDGET OF 4 MILLION 197 560 $7, A TEXTBOOK FUND BUDGET OF 612, UH, $612,720, AND A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND BUDGET OF $1,235,000. IS THERE A SECOND? I SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT? MS. STE? COULD YOU DO ROLL CALL PLEASE? MS. SALANS? AYE. MR. MCFADDEN? AYE. MS. JONES? AYE. MR. KLEIN? AYE. AND DR. PE? AYE. OKAY, THANK YOU. WE HAVE A BUDGET AGAIN. NEXT UP WE [2.B. Approval of FY2027 Benefit Renewal & Salary Scales - Mrs. Drake] HAVE THE APPROVAL OF THE FY 2027 BENEFIT RENEWAL AND SALARY SCALES, MS. DRAKE, GOOD EVENING. GET THAT A LITTLE BIT. UM, SO THIS EVENING HOPEFULLY HAVE SOME FINAL VERSIONS FOR US TO BE ABLE TO REVIEW AND HOPEFULLY APPROVE TONIGHT, UM, SO WE CAN GET CONTRACTS ISSUED AND HAVE THAT VERY LONG PERSONNEL REPORT FOR YOU. UH, NEXT WEEK WEDNESDAY, UH, WE'VE TOLD OUR STAFF THE TIMELINE WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS IN THAT THURSDAY FRIDAY FOR CONTRACTS TO GO OUT AND AS THE FEEDBACK WE'VE GOTTEN AS YEARS PAST, THEY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THEIR SALARY SKILLS ARE AND THEIR BENEFITS ARE FOR THEM TO EVEN SIGN THEM. UM, SO THOUGHT TONIGHT WOULD BE THE APPROPRIATE TIME TO BE ABLE TO GO OVER THOSE WITH YOU. UH, I'LL START WITH THE SALARY SCALES. THAT'S PROBABLY THE EASIER OF THE CONVERSATIONS. AND SO, UM, THEY HAVE NOT CHANGED SINCE THEY WERE FIRST PRESENTED. ALL OF THE ADJUSTMENTS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO INCREMENTALLY CHANGE. UM, WE ALREADY HAVE OUR PLAN FOR THE NEXT, NEXT FISCAL YEAR, UM, FOR THOSE ADJUSTMENTS THAT NEED TO BE MADE AS WELL. SO FOR THIS YEAR, IT IS OUR INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS, IT'S OUR REGISTERED NURSES ADDING IN THE LPNS. UM, IT'S OUR BUS DRIVERS TO BE ABLE TO EXTEND THEIR TIME SINCE WE ARE PAYING SO MUCH OVERTIME FOR THEM OR PART-TIME WORK FOR THEM NOW. AND THEN OUR HEAD COACHES AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, WE'LL MOVE INTO THE NEXT YEAR TO BE ABLE TO ADJUST MORE OF THOSE SCALES. SO IT'S A LOT OF IT IS A LOT OF MONEY, IT'S A LOT OF ADJUSTMENTS, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE MINIMUM SALARIES, UM, AND HITTING THOSE THRESHOLDS. SO ANY QUESTIONS ON THE SALARY SCALES? SO THERE WERE, THERE WERE INCREASES, CORRECT? PRETTY SIGNIFICANT ONES FOR THE IAS AND THEN ALSO THE NURSES ACROSS THE BOARD? YES, CORRECT. SO YES. OKAY. I KNOW WE HAD HAD SOME CONCERN ABOUT, ABOUT THAT. AND UM, SO THEY'RE GETTING ADJUSTED SO SOME OF, OF THE SCALES CONDENSED, SO WE WERE ABLE TO DO THOSE INCREASES. MM-HMM . UM, SO TO ADD THE LPNS, THEY WOULD BE NON-EXEMPT EMPLOYEES. THEY ARE REALLY THE TOP PART OF OUR OLD SCALE AND THEN OUR RNS ARE THE BOTTOM HALF. UM, SO THERE WERE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT MY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND PEOPLE COMING IN. UM, THERE'S JUST NO WAY TO ADJUST THAT WITHOUT GIVING THESE INCREASES. UM, BECAUSE EVERYBODY OFF THE SCALE WAS ALREADY GOING TO GET A 3% OR HAD WE GOTTEN THE 4%, A 4% AT THE TIME. ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ON THE SCALES FOR MS. DRAKE. OKAY. ALRIGHT. BENEFITS. BENEFITS. SO HAVE HOPEFULLY TWO FINAL OPTIONS. BOTH ARE WITH TLC. UM, AND WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT NEXT YEAR AS WE CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH AND WITH THE COUNTY, UM, TO GO SELF-FUNDED, UM, WE, LIKE I HAD TALKED [00:45:01] ABOUT BEFORE, REALLY DO NEED A POT OF MONEY TO START WITH BECAUSE WE WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF THOSE CLAIMS, UH, BY STAYING WITH TLC. I MEAN THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM AND WHEN WE JUST HAVE OUR PREMIUMS BY PERSON, UH, THROUGH THE ENROLLMENT OPTIONS. AND SO, UM, I'M ASKING FOR THAT TONIGHT AS WELL FOR US TO BE ABLE TO RENEW THAT CONTRACT. THERE'S NOT A WET SIGNATURE, IT'S DONE THROUGH A PORTAL, UM, FOR THAT, BUT WOULD STILL HAVE TO SHARE THE MINUTES WITH THEM THAT YOU HAVE APPROVED US TO STAY WITH TLC OR THE LOCAL CHOICE. UM, SO FOR THE BENEFITS, THIS IS AGAIN ALL THROUGH LOCAL CHOICE. A FEW ADJUSTMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE. UM, IDEALLY WE WERE TRYING TO SPLIT OR TO PUT, BECAUSE THE, THE TOTAL MONTHLY PREMIUM FOR AN EMPLOYEE SPOUSE AND AN EMPLOYEE CHILD ARE EXACTLY THE SAME. WHAT HAS BEEN DONE IN WARREN COUNTY IS THAT WE'VE ADJUSTED WHAT WE PAY TOWARDS EACH. AND SO, UM, ALTHOUGH IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA AND NICE TO BE ABLE TO PUT THEM AS EMPLOYEE DEPENDENT, YOU WOULD, WE WOULD BE HAVING TO PAY MORE, UM, TOWARDS SOME OF THOSE AND LESS TOWARDS ANOTHER. UM, SO UNTIL WE CAN GET MORE EQUALIZED PERCENTAGES, WHICH IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS ENTIRE YEAR, UM, I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT WE BREAK THOSE BACK OUT. UM, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT WITH SELF-INSURED AND NOT TO CONFUSE THIS, BUT THEN YOU COULD DO LIKE EMPLOYEE CHILD CHILDREN BECAUSE THE RATES ARE DIFFERENT. AND SO WE, THE GOAL IS TO GET THERE. UM, IT'S JUST THE, IT'S JUST A BETTER OPTION IN GENERAL. SO OPTION ONE, UM, IT AND IT IS AN OPTION TWO AS WELL AS BREAKING OUT THE EMPLOYEE CHILD AND EMPLOYEE SPOUSE. UM, STILL IS TRYING TO REMAIN CONSISTENT IN PERCENTAGES ON WHAT WARREN COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE PLAN. UM, THAT DID CHANGE. I MEAN WE STAYED WITH THE $500 DEDUCTIBLE, SO WE HAD A TWO 50. THIS WOULD BE THE, TO STAYING WITH THE 500 AND THAT'S JUST DUE TO THE TOTAL COST. WE HAVE 166 EMPLOYEES CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN THOSE, UM, THAT PLAN THAT WOULD ALSO BE IMPACTED, UM, THROUGH THEIR DEDUCTIBLE. AND THEN, UM, THE 1000 PLAN, WE DID HAVE TO ADJUST SOME OF THE PERCENTAGES AND THAT'S JUST BECAUSE I WAS BREAKING OUT THE PERCENTAGES ON WHAT PEOPLE WOULD HAVE TO PAY WITHIN THEIR INCREASES BY MAKING THESE ADJUSTMENTS. AND THEN IN THE HIGH DEDUCTIBLE PLAN, IT DID GO UP TO 3,400. IT WAS 3,300 THIS LAST YEAR. AND I DID REMOVE THE EMPLOYEE DUAL EMPLOYEE PLUS SPOUSE. IT MAKES NO SENSE FOR THEM TO DO THAT BECAUSE THEY WOULD, THAT MEANS THEY'RE ONLY GETTING ONE $1,000, UM, FROM US TOWARDS THEIR HSA IF THEIR EMPLOYEE ONLY, IT WOULD STILL BE FREE TO BOTH OF THEM AND THEY BOTH WOULD GET THE THOUSAND DOLLARS. WE DIDN'T HAVE ANYBODY ENROLLED IN THAT ANYWAY. SO THERE'S ZERO IMPACT AT THIS TIME, BUT IF WE HAD THAT AS AN OPTION, WE'RE ACTUALLY SHORTING THEM A THOUSAND DOLLARS TO PUT INTO THEIR HSA. SO JUST REMOVE THAT, UM, COMPLETELY. 'CAUSE I COULDN'T MAKE LOGIC OF IT. UM, SO OPTION ONE, UM, THERE IS, FOR OUR DUALS SPECIFICALLY, UM, STILL EQUALIZING THOSE PERCENTAGES, BUT JUST WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S WELL KNOWN, UM, THAT THERE WOULD BE A INCREASE TO THEM MORE, UM, THAN ANY OTHER PLAN TIER THAT WE ALREADY HAVE ON HERE. AND THAT IS AGAIN, JUST TO EQUALIZE THE PERCENTAGES. IT'S STILL A HEFTY DISCOUNT, UM, TO THEM AND A BENEFIT HOWEVER IT WOULD INCREASE WHERE THEY'RE CURRENTLY USED TO WHAT THEY'RE PAYING. AND OPTION TWO, THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT I'VE TALKED ABOUT EXCEPT FOR THE DUALS SPECIFICALLY AND THAT GROUP, IS THAT WE, THEY WOULD GET A 20% DISCOUNT. THEY WOULD GET THE EMPLOYEE ONLY, UM, FOR THE DUAL EMPLOYEE AND SPOUSE, THE EMPLOYEE PREMIUM, WHAT WE ARE PAYING TIMES TWO 'CAUSE THERE ARE TWO OF THEM PLUS 20% OFF. SO THAT WAY IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE EQUAL AND CONSISTENT ON WHAT WE'RE DOING VERSUS WHAT HAS BEEN DONE IN YEARS PAST AND WHY THEY HAVE DONE IT. I THINK TIMES HAVE JUST CHANGED AND THEY ARE DIFFERENT FOR THE DUAL FAMILY. WE TOOK THE FAMILY WHAT WE ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE REGULAR FAMILY PLAN THAT'S NOT A DUAL AND THEN AGAIN, ADDED 20% TO THAT. SO THOSE ARE THE, THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OPTION ONE AND OPTION TWO FOR THE DUAL FAMILIES AS JUST TRYING TO FIND AGAIN, A MORE EITHER INCREMENTAL INCREASE TO THEM INSTEAD OF KIND OF A, A BIGGER HIT IN OPTION TWO IS JUST LETTING US KNOW WHAT PERCENTAGE AND HOW MUCH WE'RE ACTUALLY PUTTING TOWARDS THEM. UM, EVERY SINGLE BENEFIT ENROLLMENT THAT WE HAVE. AND SO WITH THOSE, UM, I HAVE ASKED THAT YOU VOTE ON ONE OF THE OPTIONS THAT YOU FEEL IS BEST AND I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT I HAVEN'T ALREADY TALKED ABOUT. SO IN THE COLUMN, UM, I'M LOOKING AT THE, THE TOP, THE ANTHEM 500, THE PURPLE ONE, OPTION [00:50:01] ONE OR TWO. UM, WELL I'M COMPARING OPTION ONE AND OPTION OPTION TWO. OKAY. SO I'M LOOKING AT THE COLUMN LABELED PERCENTAGE COVERED. YES. AND SO I SEE DUAL FAMILY PERCENTAGE COVERED 80% ON OPTION ONE, BUT THEN ON OPTION TWO I SEE DUAL FAMILY PERCENTAGE COVERED 62%. UM, BUT THE, SO WOULDN'T IT MAKE MORE IF YOU'RE THE PERCENTAGE COVERED BY US OR THE PERCENTAGE COVERED BY THEM? THIS IS THE PERCENTAGE COVERED BY US. SO OPTION TWO, THE REASON THAT IT WENT DOWN SO MUCH IS BECAUSE WE'RE ONLY GIVING THEM THE 20% ON TOP OF WHAT WE'RE PAYING FOR THE CURRENT, UH, PLAN FOR NON DUALS. SO THIS IS THE PERCENTAGES THAT WE ARE COVERING. SO BY DOING AN INCREMENTAL INCREASE TO THEM, UM, OPTION ONE, LIKE WE WERE TRYING, WE JUST STUCK WITH THE PERCENTAGE COVERED. SO AGAIN, IT WASN'T SUCH A DRAMATIC CHANGE. I GUESS I'M STILL NOT UNDERSTANDING. SO THE PERCENTAGE COVERED AT 80% THE COST TO THE EMPLOYEE IS LOWER THAN IF THE PERCENTAGE COVERED AT 62%, THE EMPLOYEE MONTHLY IS HIGHER, IT'S TWICE AS MUCH, RIGHT? ON OPTION TWO, YEAH. PAYING LIKE A THOUSAND, A LITTLE OVER A THOUSAND INSTEAD OF ROUGHLY YEAH, BECAUSE 5 66 MM-HMM . SO YEAH, ROUGHLY. BUT I'M JUST SAYING LIKE I, I WOULD THINK THAT IF THE PER ALL RIGHT, SO WE'RE COVERING LESS, SO THAT'S WHY. SO THIS 20% YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, SO THEY'RE JUST GETTING LIKE AN EXTRA 20% JUST BECAUSE THEY HAPPEN TO BE MARRIED TO EACH OTHER AND WORKING FOR OUR COUNTY. YES. SO THE 20% IS IS JUST BECAUSE OF WHO THEIR SPOUSE IS WORKING FOR THE COUNTY? YES. OKAY. BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'VE TRADITIONALLY OFFERED, UM, IS THAT THEY'RE EITHER FREE OR THAT THEY PAY LESS THAN. OKAY. UM, AND NORMALLY LESS THAN A ZERO, THE DUAL FAMILY ON THE TWO 50 PLAN NOW 500, THEY WERE PAYING 5 38. UM, THAT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST OF THE DUALS THAT HAD BEEN FOR KIND OF THAT CADILLAC PLAN. IS YOUR RECOMMENDATION OPTION ONE OF THESE OR YOU'RE I'M NOT SAYING YOU'RE JUST PRESENTING THEM BOTH. I'M PRESENTING THEM BOTH, YES. BUT WE HAVE FUNDING WITHIN THE BUDGETS TO COVER OPTION ONE BECAUSE THAT IS THE MORE, UM, WHERE WE WOULD HAVE TO PUT MORE MONEY INTO THOSE. AND SO WE'VE COVERED IT REGARDLESS OF THE OPTION. UM, WE HAVE TALKED AND LEADERSHIP, IF WE WENT WITH OPTION TWO, UM, WE WOULD ONLY NEED OF THAT AMOUNT LISTED ON MR. VALENTINE'S REPORT, ONLY $22,896. SO THERE WOULD BE QUITE THE DIFFERENCE. UM, HOWEVER, LIKE WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT KEEPING THAT END BENEFITS EITHER WAY JUST BECAUSE OF WE CONTINUE TO GET MORE ENROLLMENTS, WHICH IS GREAT. UM, I I I LOVE THAT OUR EMPLOYEES ARE TAKING OUR BENEFITS. THAT MEANS THEY'RE GOOD, THEY'RE HAPPY, BUT THIS YEAR ALONE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE TALKING IN LEADERSHIP ABOUT WHAT WE BUDGETED FOR LAST YEAR AND PLANNED LIKE WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO GO OVER THAT BECAUSE WE HAD SO MANY MORE EMPLOYEES TAKE OUR BENEFITS. IT'S A GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE, BUT STILL A PROBLEM NEVERTHELESS. SO WE WOULD STILL LIKE TO KEEP THE FUNDING LINE ON WHAT WAS JUST PRESENTED AND ADOPTED IN HEALTHCARE REGARDLESS. MAYBE I'M THINKING ABOUT THIS WRONG, BUT I FEEL LIKE SINCE WE'RE STEPPING DOWN FROM THE GOING TO THE 3% PLUS STEP, I WOULD BE MORE INCLINED TO TRY TO CHOOSE THE ONE THAT MAKES IT LESS FOR EMPLOYEES. MM-HMM . THIS YEAR. I WOULD AGREE WITH THAT. I THINK SO THIS RED NUMBER AT THE VERY BOTTOM, THE 153,432 FOR OPTION ONE IS HOW MUCH WE ARE IN THE RED. IF WE CHOOSE THAT, THAT WAS THE ADDITIONAL FROM WHAT WE HAD ORIGINALLY REQUESTED AT THE 9.2 AND A ROUNDING THERE, BUT THE 9.2 MILLION EITHER FIT INTO THE BUDGET THAT WE JUST APPROVED, CORRECT? YES. THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD SAVE FROM THE BUDGET THAT WE JUST APPROVED. YES. WE MADE SURE TO INCLUDE ALL SAVE WOULD 58,000 IF WE WENT, WE PAID, WE WOULD PAY YES. AN ADDITIONAL THAN WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED. SO OPTION ONE COSTS US SIGNIFICANTLY MORE. CORRECT. AND THEN HOW, I KNOW WE ALSO HAVE KIND OF IN THE BACKGROUND WORKING ON THE, UM, THE POTENTIAL POSSIBLE NOT PROMISED BONUS SITUATION, WHICH WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO COME UP WITH ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THAT MM-HMM . AS WELL. BUT YOU DO NOT WANT TO USE ANY OF THE, YOU WANNA BUILD THIS UP TO BEING SELF-INSURED SO WE DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH THESE HUGE INCREASES YES. IN THE FUTURE, RIGHT? YES. OKAY. YES. WE'D LOVE TO HAVE THAT POT OF MONEY THAT WILL TAKE OVER TWO, LIKE A $2 MILLION. SO THAT WILL HAVE TO WORK WITH THE COUNTY ON TO BE ABLE TO, TO GET THAT GOING. BUT IN THE END VIA SAVINGS FOR THE COUNTY AS WELL IS IS, WHICH ONE [00:55:01] OF THESE WOULD BE SORT OF THE, YOU KNOW, CONCEPT MORE EQUITABLE FOR ALL OF YOU? I MEAN THERE'S SO MANY, DI THIS IS SOMETHING WE LOOKED AT THE COUNTY AND THEY, THEY HAD LIKE THREE THREE, YOU KNOW, LINES LIKE THAT MAKES IT PRETTY EASY. THIS ONE HAS SO MANY AND THEY'RE COVERING PEOPLE THE 80%, 95%, 53%, THE SAME PEOPLE, THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE'RE PAYING PER, PER EMPLOYEE IS QUITE DIFFERENT. I MEAN IT'S, IT IS VERY, THERE'S A LOT OF NUMBERS, VERY CONFUSING. BUT WHAT, WHICH ONE WOULD BE IN, IN YOUR OPINION? WHAT WE HAVE WRITTEN DOWN HERE WOULD BE A LITTLE MORE EQUITABLE FOR EVERYBODY. I MEAN, SO I THINK THE IDEAL WOULD BE IDEALLY E SAY WE'RE GONNA PAY YOU THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR PREMIUM JUST BECAUSE IT'S A BENEFIT TO YOU FROM THE COUNTY, FROM US. LIKE THE COUNTY DOES, WE'RE NOT THERE. I GET THAT. OR THE, OR YOU WORK ON THE PERCENT COVERED, WE'RE GONNA DO THE, EVERYONE THE SAME PERCENTAGE COVERED. IT'S, IT'S JUST SO ODD TO LOOK AT HOW THE, THE DIFFERENCE, I MEAN YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT WAY MORE THAN I AM, BUT HOW, HOW DIFFERENT THE THINGS ARE. AND I YOU NEED LIKE A PHD IN THIS PIECE OF PAPER IN ORDER TO FIGURE IT OUT. YEAH. AND IT, AND IT'S JUST DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE TO ME. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE PERCENTAGE COVERED NOW THAT WE DO, AND THAT WAS SOMETHING WHEN I STARTED AND CAME IN, I'M LIKE, WHY? LIKE, WHAT IS THIS? I HAD A, A MATH TEACHER, UM, WHO'S RETIRING NOW. SHE WAS LIKE, YOUR MATH DOESN'T MATH. I'M LIKE, I KNOW. LIKE I, TRUST ME, I KNOW WHEN WE SAY LAST YEAR WE SAID WE WERE SPLITTING THAT 12% INCREASE, WE, WE DIDN'T, WE PUT IN THE 12% AND WHEN YOU ADDED IT TO THE EMPLOYEE'S PLAN, SOME PEOPLE ONLY SAW 4%, SOME SAW THE 12, SOME SAW EIGHT. AND SO THAT'S BEEN MY GOAL IS TO EQUALIZE THE PERCENTAGES BETTER. UM, NORMALLY ON YOUR BEST PLAN, YOU COVER LESS YOUR GOOD PLAN, YOU COVER A LITTLE BIT MORE AND THEN YOUR EIGHT, YOUR HIGH DEDUCTIBLES, YOU COVER THE MOST. AND SO THAT'S BEEN MY GOAL AND STRUCTURE. LAST YEAR WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DO IT. SO THAT'S THIS YEAR. SO THE PERCENTAGES, ALTHOUGH EVERYWHERE THEY ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONSISTENT FROM, THEY'RE WAY MORE CONSISTENT THAN WHERE WE ARE NOW. UM, BUT STILL THERE ARE SOME THAT WE'LL SEE A 5% TO A 9% AND IT WILL VARY JUST BECAUSE OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN. AND IT IS TRYING TO GET IT MORE CONSISTENT WHENEVER WE DO BIG JUMPS, ESPECIALLY WITH A 23% INCREASE THAT'S IT'S HARD TO DO ALL AT ONCE WITHOUT TRULY IMPACTING THE EMPLOYEE A HUNDRED PERCENT. AND SO WHEN LOOKING AT THESE, TRYING TO STILL LET OUR EMPLOYEES SEE THAT EMPLOYEE PLUS OR EXCUSE ME, UM, THEIR STEP OR 3% PLUS STEP, EXCUSE ME, WITH THEIR BENEFITS IS, WAS KIND OF THE ULTIMATE GOAL WITH ADJUSTING SOME OF THEM AS WELL. RIGHT. SO GO AHEAD. OH NO, SORRY. UM, SO NOW I'M LOOKING AT ANTHEM 1000 DEDUCTIBLE PLAN ON OPTION TWO. OKAY. UM, DUAL EMPLOYEE AND SPOUSE, WHICH IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY IS JUST TWO EMPLOYEES WHO HAPPEN TO BE MARRIED TO EACH OTHER. MM-HMM . SO THEY COMBINED ONLY PAY $4 A MONTH, WHEREAS A SINGLE EMPLOYEE WOULD BE PAYING 78. SO IF YOU HAD TWO S, IT SHOULD 40, I'M SORRY. OH, IT'S FOUR, IT SAYS FOUR. IS IT IT'S 40. I MEAN THAT WOULD BE, OH, IM ON THE PREVENTATIVE. I'M SORRY. OH YEAH, SORRY, I'M ON, UM, I'M ON OPTION YES. TWO. NO, I HAD OPTION TWO JUST PREVENTATIVE PULLED UP IN FRONT OF ME. YES, NO, UH, THAT IS CORRECT. SO WHEN YOU TAKE THE EMPLOYEE ONLY RIGHT NOW, WE CONTRIBUTE FOR JUST ONE PERSON $930 MM-HMM . WHEN YOU TIMES THAT BY TWO ADD IN THE 20%, YES, YOU ARE CORRECT. THEY WOULD PAY $4 OR $2 EACH. BUT IF THEY WERE AN EMPLOYEE AND AN EMPLOYEE WHO WERE NOT MARRIED TO EACH OTHER, THEY WOULD EACH BE PAYING $78 AND $78 FOR A TOTAL OF $156. CORRECT. SO BECAUSE THEY HAVE THAT PIECE OF MARITAL PAPER, THEY PAY ONLY $4. MM-HMM. I, THAT TO ME IS JUST NOT FAIR. I I DON'T THINK YOUR MARITAL STATUS SHOULD COME INTO ACCOUNT WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT AN EMPLOYEE'S BENEFITS. I, I, I HONESTLY, I'M SURPRISED WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN SUED FOR THIS YET. I MEAN, IS IS THAT YOUR HR, LIKE, IS THAT, ARE WE LEGALLY ALLOWED TO GIVE BENEFITS JUST BECAUSE OF YOUR MARITAL STATUS? WE THINK WE CAN SAY WHATEVER WE'RE CONTRIBUTING AS LONG AS WE ARE CONTRIBUTING TO OUR HIGH DEDUCTIBLE AND HAVING AN OFFER. SO, OKAY. WELL I THINK FOR ALL OF IT, WE'RE OBVIOUSLY GOING, CHANGING SOME THINGS, AND THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A VERY IMPORTANT POINT, UH, UH, FOR ANY EMPLOYEE ANYWHERE AS BENEFITS. I THINK AS WE MOVE FORWARD, YOU KNOW, EVERY YEAR THERE'S ALWAYS SORT OF LIKE, OH, WE'RE GONNA LEAVE, WE'RE GONNA QUIT, WE'RE GONNA DO THIS. I'M JUST SAYING, I DUNNO WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS YEAR, BUT THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE SOME THINGS OUT TO GET IT BACK TO WHERE IT SHOULD BE. WE UNDERSTAND WHERE IT HAS BEEN. WELL, WE DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHERE IT HAS, BUT WE JUST KNOW IT HAS BEEN, AND WE WANNA MAKE IT DIFFERENT AND TRY TO GET IT TO, IT ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE TO ANY HUMAN BEING LOOKING AT IT. MM-HMM . RIGHT NOW, IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE TO ANYBODY. SO THERE IS GONNA BE, THERE'S GONNA BE SOME ROUGH PATCHES. I WOULD, UH, JUST, WHETHER IT'S THIS YEAR OR NEXT YEAR, I THINK FOR THIS YEAR COULD BE A GOOD YEAR TO MAKE IT A ROUGHER PATCH BECAUSE WE KNOW WE'RE GETTING, THIS YEAR, WE'RE GETTING MORE FUNDED BY THE BY, BY EVERYBODY FOR THIS YEAR. WE'RE GETTING THIS, THE, THE STEP PLUS, THE PLUS THE RATE 3%. [01:00:01] WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE GONNA GET NEXT YEAR. AND IT'S LIKE, WELL, PEOPLE SAY SOMETIMES, THIS MAY SOUND HARSH, BUT COST OF LIVING INCREASE, WHICH IS WHAT THE 3% IS, THAT'S A COST OF LIVING INCREASE, INCREASED COST, AND MEDICAL IS COST OF LIVING INCREASE. SO IF THERE'S EVER A GOOD YEAR TO DO IT, IT'S, IT'S NEVER A GOOD YEAR TO DO IT. BUT MAYBE THIS WOULD BE A GOOD YEAR TO SAY, WELL, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO PAY A LITTLE MORE FOR IT. BUT LUCKILY WE ARE ABLE TO GET YOU THE, THE 3% PLUS STEP. IT ISN'T TAKE FROM AWAY FROM YOUR RAISE. THAT'S THE STEP. SO I'M JUST, IT'S WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S GONNA BE DIFFICULT. IT'S LIKE GRIPPING OFF A BANDAID. YOU JUST HAVE TO DO IT. I, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT'S THE YEAR, I'LL BE HONEST. I ACTUALLY DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF I EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M LOOKING AT. AND I'VE LOOKED AT IT MANY TIMES AND I, AND I ACTUALLY LIKE MATH, SO IT'S, IT'S HARD FOR ME TO LOOK AT IT AND SAY IT. SO I, I WOULD LIKE TO PERSONALLY, YOU KNOW, FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WORKING WITH DR. WRIGHT YOURSELF TO SAY WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE THING THAT'S GONNA BE BENEFICIAL TO OUR, TO US. UM, YOU KNOW, I I I WANT TO MAKE IT AS CHEAP AS POSSIBLE FOR THE EMPLOYEES, OF COURSE. MM-HMM . BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT'S, WE DON'T HAVE A, WE DON'T HAVE A, A BIG DONATION POT AND HOPEFULLY WE WILL SOMEDAY. YEAH. BUT IT, IT'S A, EITHER WAY, IT'S A HARD DECISION AND I, AND I UNDERSTAND FROM ALL POINTS OF VIEW, I, I, I'VE MENTIONED BEFORE, I HAVE 11 KIDS. I'VE GOT INSURANCE ISSUES, I'VE GOT ALL KINDS OF STUFF AND I UNDERSTAND IT. SO, BUT IT'S AT THE SAME TIME, THINGS GO UP AND DOWN AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT THE, WHEN AGAIN, WHEN THE COST OF LIVING INCREASE, I'M GETTING AT MY JOB, I'M 2.8%, YOU KNOW, THEY DECIDE TO DROP IT FROM WHAT, 3% TO 2.8 BECAUSE THEY LOVE US SO MUCH. BUT IT'S, IT'S JUST THE WAY IT IS. EVERYONE HAS TO GO THROUGH DIFFERENT THINGS, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S LIKE, YOU JUST HAVE TO SAY, WELL, THIS, THEY'RE DOING IT HOPEFULLY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE ENTIRE WHOLE RATHER THAN JUST THE ONE TIME. SO EITHER WAY, WHETHER WHATEVER HAPPENS THIS YEAR, I JUST THINK WE'RE GONNA GO ON A, A MOVEMENT TO TRY TO MAKE IT MAKE SENSE. AND THAT'S GONNA AFFECT PEOPLE EVERY YEAR FOR A COUPLE YEARS IN THEIR OWN UNTIL IT'S FINALLY LIKE, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT WE DO. CORRECT. WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THAT? I DO AGREE WITH THAT, YES. THAT'S MY GOAL IS TRYING TO GET IT MORE EQUALIZED AND CONSISTENT WITH, BUT I'M ALSO LOOKING AT THE EMPLOYEE SIDE, WHICH IS OUR GREATEST ASSET. AND YES, PEOPLE HAVE, THEY THREATENED ALL OF THE TIME, IF I DON'T GET THIS, I'M DOING THAT. AND OKAY, OKAY. LIKE THAT IS YOUR CHOICE. YOU ARE A GROWN ADULT AND I WOULD LOVE TO KEEP YOU HERE. AND I DO, I TRULY BELIEVE THAT, UM, THAT IS A, THERE'S A LOT OF OUR EMPLOYEES THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD BE A HUGE IMPACT IF THEY DID. UM, HOWEVER, I DO AGREE, LIKE WITH OPTION ONE, IT'S A LESSER OF AN IMPACT AS WE TRANSITION THAT WAY, UM, INSTEAD OF JUST A, A BIG HIT. UM, BUT AGAIN, GETTING TO OPTION TWO IS NOW IT IS CONSISTENT, NOW IT'S WHATEVER WE COVER WITH THE EMPLOYEE OR THAT FAMILY, WHAT WE'RE THAT PERCENTAGE WE'RE COVERING AND YOU GET 20% OFF AND THEN THAT'S, THAT'S IT. NOW YOU KNOW WHAT THAT DISCOUNT IS. UM, UNLESS WE DON'T LIKE THE DISCOUNT OPTION AT ALL, THEN I DON'T KNOW THAT WE SHOULD START THERE IF WE'RE NOT LOOKING TO CONTINUE THERE. UM, I GUESS WOULD BE MY OTHER THING THAT I WOULD THROW IN WITH THAT. AND, AND I JUST, I WANTED TO SHARE THAT IT IS VERY COMMON IN SCHOOL SETTINGS TO HAVE A DISCOUNT FOR, FOR THE FAMILY, ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE ARE TWO, TWO EMPLOYEES WHO ARE SURROUNDING COUNTIES. YEAH. DO HAVE THAT FOR US. ABSOLUTELY. AND THAT'S, THAT'S PRETTY COMMON. THERE WOULD BE A DISCOUNT WHEN ONE EMPLOYEE IS MARRIED TO ANOTHER. THEY WOULD GET, UH, A DISCOUNT, NOT NECESSARILY A HUNDRED PERCENT DISCOUNT, BUT A DISCOUNT. MM-HMM . WHEN WE HAD DONE OUR BENEFITS REVIEW, I DON'T KNOW, FEBRUARY, MARCH PICK OUR MONTH, I HONESTLY DON'T REMEMBER WHEN WE HAD LOOKED AT SALARY SCALES AND WE LOOKED AT THE BENEFITS AFTERWARDS, UM, THERE WERE SEVERAL COUNTIES THAT DID OFFER A DISCOUNT. SOME OF THEM WOULD PUT IT ON THERE AND SOME JUST SAID, YOU'LL TALK TO HR FOR WHATEVER THAT IS. AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE IT LISTED. SO, BUT YES, OUR CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS HEALTH INSURANCE IS REALLY GOOD COMPARED TO OUR, NOT AT ALL. WE ARE BETTER THAN THE COUNTIES AROUND US, I CAN TELL YOU THAT RIGHT NOW. WHICH HOPEFULLY IS A GOOD DRIVE. UM, I KNOW I'VE HAD, I MEAN OBVIOUSLY IN OFFERS THAT I'VE MADE AND I SEND THEM OUR BENE, EXCUSE ME, BENEFITS INFORMATION AND I SEND 'EM OUR PAY SCALE SO THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LOOK INTO IT BEFORE ACCEPTING AND THEY'RE LIKE, YOU GUYS ARE GREAT. I'M LIKE, YES, WE DO. LIKE, SO THAT IS A, A GOOD WAY TO, TO ATTRACT PEOPLE IN. ALL RIGHT. SO TO SUMMARIZE, OPTION TWO GIVES A 20% MARITAL BONUS AND OPTION ONE DOES NOT. CORRECT. OKAY. AND OPTION ONE THIS YEAR IS STARTING THE CORRECTION PROCESS, BUT HELPING TO HOLD THE EMPLOYEES A LITTLE BIT MORE HARMLESS THIS GO ROUND. YES. I MEAN, I WOULD PROBABLY BE INCLINED TO DO OPTION ONE THIS HERE PERSONALLY. OBJECT ONE IF I WOULD TOO. THAT IS WHERE I'M LEANING AS WELL. ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FOR MS. DRAKE THIS EVENING? DO YOU HAVE, UH, ANY REASONING BEHIND WHY THE SCHOOL'S MONTHLY, MONTHLY CONTRIBUTION FOR THE THOUSAND DEDUCTIBLE PLAN IS MORE THAN THE 500? I WOULD ASSUME THAT THE THOUSAND DEDUCTIBLE PLAN WOULD BE SLIGHTLY CHEAPER, BUT FOR THE SCHOOLS IT IS NOT. [01:05:01] SO LIKE, WHICH, WHICH ONE YOU WANT? UH, I, IT MIGHT BE DOWN THE BOARD, BUT I, I'M ON OPTION ONE ONE AND UM, LIKE FOR EMPLOYEE ONLY THE $500 DEDUCTIBLE, UH, WCPS CONTRIBUTION IS EIGHT 40 FOR THE THOUSAND DOLLARS DEDUCTIBLE, IT'S NINE 30. MM-HMM . YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD POINT. AREN'T THOSE PLANS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE A LITTLE BIT CHEAPER ? WELL, THE TOTAL PREMIUM IS THE DIFFERENCE. AND WHEN YOU GO, THE ORIGINAL PLAN WAS TO GO 80% ON THE EMPLOYEE ONLY FOR THE, THE CADILLAC PLAN AS I CALL IT. MM-HMM . THEN THE THOUSAND GO 90% AND I WENT TO 92 BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE THAT THE EMPLOYEE WOULD BE SEEING. SO PAYING A LITTLE BIT MORE TOWARDS THAT, BUT THE TOTAL PREMIUM ON WHAT WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR FOR THE TWO 50 OR THE 500 PLAN IS ONLY 1047 AND THEN IT'S $1,008 TO GO TO THE THOUSAND PLAN. IT USED TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT WHEN WE WERE AT THE TWO 50 PLAN. SO, BUT THE GOAL WAS AN 80, 90, 100 AS YOU GO DOWN THE TIERS. AND SO THAT WAY YOUR PERCENTAGES ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, FIVE TO 10% THE TOTAL MONTHLY PREMIUM GOES DOWN. BUT WE ARE COVERING A LITTLE BIT MORE, A LITTLE BIT MORE. CORRECT. AND THE EMPLOYEE IS SEEING A LITTLE A DROP RIGHT. IN THEIR MONTHLY. AND THAT'S JUST BECAUSE OF THE TOTAL PREMIUM. OKAY. YES, I ACTUALLY SEE THAT . OKAY. YES. OKAY. ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? IS THERE A MOTION ON THIS? I MOVE THAT THE WARREN COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD APPROVED THE RENEWAL OF THE LOCAL CHOICE HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM FOR THE OCTOBER 1ST, 2026 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2027 PLAN YEAR, INCLUDING THE SELECTION OF OPTION ONE AND ASSOCIATED BENEFIT PLAN AND TIER STRUCTURE AS PRESENTED. I FURTHER MOVE THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD APPROVED THE FISCAL YEAR 27 SALARY SCALES. IS THERE A SECOND? I SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT? MS. STOLLE? COULD YOU DO A ROLL CALL PLEASE? MR. KLEIN? AYE. MS. JONES? AYE. DR. PENCE? AYE. MR. MCFADDEN? AYE. MS. SALE? AYE. THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THIS EVENING? OH. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.