MINUTES

FINANCE AND OPERATIONS COMMITTEE

July 11, 2005

The Finance and Operations Committee of the Board of Education of the School District of Jefferson met on Monday, July 11, 2005, in the High School Library. Chairperson Stoner called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. with Committee members Koch and Stafford present. Committee alternate Neils arrived at 5:05 p.m. Committee member Salmon was absent.

Approval of Minutes: Motion by Mr. Stafford, seconded by Mr. Koch to approve minutes of the June 6, 2005 Finance and Operations Committee as presented. The motion passed on a unanimous voice vote.

OPERATIONS TOPICS:

Resignation(s): Committee members discussed the resignation letter received from Gretchen Ginter, K-12 Gifted and Talented Coordinator. As noted in her letter, Mrs. Ginter has secured a position in another school district.

A motion to accept the resignation of Mrs. Gretchen Ginter as the K-12 Gifted and Talented Coordinator and forward on to the full Board for consideration was made by Mr. Koch, seconded by Mr. Stafford. Motion carried 3-0.

Employment(s): None.

2004-05 Student Nutrition Program Year-End Report: Doreen Treuden, Student Nutrition Director, provided the committee with her 2004-05 year-end food service department report. The program was once again financially self-supporting and purchased a number of equipment items out of its funds. A comparison of data from five years ago was given and showed that meal counts have increased each year, while labor hours have decreased.

Committee members noted the impressive meal numbers, particularly with the open campus availability at the high school and congratulated Mrs. Treuden on an excellent job. It was also noted that the district would be providing the meals for the Headstart program at East Elementary in the fall in the new basement classrooms.

2005-06 Lunch Agreement with St. Peter’s Lutheran School: Mrs. Treuden reviewed with the committee the proposed agreement for the district to continue to provide lunch service to St. Peter’s Lutheran School for the 2005-06 school year.

A motion was made by Mr. Stafford, seconded by Mrs. Neils, to approve the 2005-06 agreement with St. Peter’s Lutheran School to provide lunch service and forward the same to the full Board for consideration. Motion carried 4-0.

Natural Gas Purchasing Review: Mr. Rick Pettibone, the district’s natural gas consultant, provided the committee with a report on how the district’s purchases have been relative to the gas market over the past 20 months. He distributed information on the gas billing history and explained the transport cost calculation. He also reviewed the status of current purchases relative to the current market. The district has purchased a portion of its gas out to September. At this time he is recommending that the district not do any additional purchases and wait and see what happens with the weather and the market. He may recommend looking at a purchase in August or September for winter gas.

Mr. Pettibone also briefly spoke about the Focus on Energy program which is run through CESA #10. He recommended that the district look into energy efficiency programs and offered the assistance of Franklin Energy. Committee members agreed that this should be placed on a future agenda and should be pursued as a part of the district facilities study.

2005-06 Agreement with Kiddie Kollege: The committee reviewed the proposed agreement with Kiddie Kollege for the continued use of West Elementary School for an after-school childcare program for the 2005-06 school year. According to state statute, the district has an obligation to provide the use of its facilities for an after-school day care program if space is available and other requirements are met. The program has been working well for a number of years.

A motion was made by Mr. Koch, seconded by Mrs. Neils, to approve the 2005-06 proposed agreement with Kiddie Kollege for the use of the West Elementary multi-purpose room for an after-school childcare program and forward the same to the full Board for consideration. Motion carried 4-0.

FINANCE TOPICS:

Update on 2005-06 Open Enrollment Applications: Committee members reviewed updated information on the 2005-06 open enrollment applicants. This information will not be firm until such time as students report for class and the Third Friday Count in September is complete. Since the original application period, the net deficit has been reduced by 17 to the current deficit of 35 students.

2005-06 Proposed Revenues and Expenditures: Committee members reviewed the updated 2005-06 proposed revenues and expenditures reflecting all changes to date. There was discussion on the potential implications of the current proposed state budget. If the budget were to be approved in its current state, the district would need to reduce an additional $225,000 from the budget. The current proposed budget, as based on the Governor’s budget, estimates a decrease in the overall district property tax levy and the use of fund balance for the renovation of the East Elementary basement. Additional information will be brought back to the committee as it is known from the state level.

Use of Fund Balance: With the decrease in the open enrollment numbers, the committee did not address any additional uses of fund balance. The proposed budget currently designates the use of fund balance for only the East Elementary basement renovation project.

Insurance Program Review: Committee members discussed the district’s insurance program, shared thoughts on how they feel the program is working, provided goals relative to the program, and changes they wish the administration/insurance committee to pursue. Specific areas of interest included various benefit levels for the life and disability plans, a long-term care plan, HRA and HSAs, fully insured versus self-insured plans, tiered drug benefits, adjusting deductibles, premium share and comparable district plans and premiums. Overall, the committee encouraged a look at a full range of strategies for controlling costs.

Student Activity Funds Audit Report: Committee members reviewed the student activity funds audit report received from the district’s auditor, Ed Virnig. As indicated in his letter, Mr. Virnig had some concerns with the procedures currently being followed with regard to timely deposits of student activity funds. Additionally, he recommended that all funds raised by the efforts of students be deposited into the student activity accounts. Committee members also reviewed Board policy DIBB – Student Body Activity Account Management. Policy DIBB will be placed on the agenda for the next Policy and Community Engagement committee meeting.

Discussion of Possible Topics for Future Meetings: Future meeting topics that were requested included:

Report on the district prior service liability

How the district is promoting itself for open enrollment

There was some discussion on contingency preparations in the case of additional reductions being needed based on the potential state budget approval. It was decided to wait until additional information is known before developing an additional reduction list.

A motion was made by Mr. Koch, seconded by Mrs. Neils to move into closed session pursuant to Section 19.85(1)(c) Wisconsin Statutes for the purpose of discussing Personnel Consideration – Administrative and Non-Unit Compensation for 2005-2006. Motion carried 4-0.

CLOSED SESSION:

A motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Koch, seconded by Mrs. Neils. Motion carried 4-0.

ADJOURNMENT: 6:30 p.m.

BOARD OF EDUCATION

Acting Secretary, Laura Peachey