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061107Adiournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. J. Harold Holmes, Chairman Phil Kemp Arnold Lanier Darrell L. Frye Stan Haywood Cheryl Ivey, Clerk to the Board Maintaining small class sizes after state allotments are reduced affects their continuation budget by $446,000. Other economic considerations that will impact the continuation budget include a projected 6% salary increase for certified staff and school building administrators, a 3% salary increase for non -certified staff and central office administrators, and a hospital rate increase. The total impact of these factors is approximately $640,500. Local Current Expense expansion budget items (from County appropriations) include $15,000 for Communities in Schools and $30,000 for an additional custodial position. Other expansion items under consideration from state, local and federal resources include: • AVID program for both middle schools $30,000 (state) • Interactive technology $160,000 (state) • Additional elementary teacher $40,000 (state) • Additional assistant principal (GBT) $60,000 (local) • Tuition reimbursement for master's degrees $15,000 (state) • Parent Academy $5,000 (federal) • Receptionist position at AHS Zoo School $30,000 (local) In order to fund the continuation and expansion budgets, the following appropriation and supplemental tax rate requests for the FY 06-07 school year are • Current Expense: $4,365,000 (an increase of 15% over the FY 2006-2007 funding) • Supplemental tax rate be increased from $.1385 per $100 valuation. Randolph Community College Dr. Robert Shackleford, President, said that RCC's requested operational budget request is $2,412,815, which is a 9.10% increase over the prior year funding. The request includes funding for a new Business Development Specialist position that was previously grant -funded; that grant has now ended. Dr. Shackleford reminded the Board that RCC representatives met with them on March 12, 2007 to discuss the need for a new building to house the Early College High School (ECHS), as well as other college space needs. Total cost of advanced planning phase for the ECHS building is $292,893. (This represents 60% of the total designer fees, which is the amount required to compete the construction documents phase suggested by the Office of State construction.) He said that RCC requests that the County partner with them to pay half of this advanced planning cost ($146,447). Dr. Shackleford stressed that their upcoming space needs are critical, since the third class of 100 Early College High School students will enter RCC in August 2008. In the event that funding for a new building is not included in the Randolph County budget this year, RCC will recommend that a modular unit like the one used for the Zoo School by the Asheboro City Schools be put in place (estimated cost of $500,000). A modular unit would be an excellent temporary solution for the 18 months likely required to build a new facility. Dr. Shackleford urged the Board to fully fund their operational budget request of $2,412,815 and their urgent capital request of $646,447. Recess At 5:35 p.m. the Board took a short recess. Randolph County Schools At 5:45 p.m., the Board reconvened and Donald Andrews, Randolph County Schools Superintendent, discussed the Randolph County Schools budget request. He said that their FY 07-08 Current Expense request is for $17,315,941, which is an 11.87% increase over the current year's funding. The costs associated with continuation account for about 3.75% of that increase. The continuation costs relate primarily to projected salary increases, fringe benefit increases and rising costs associated with items such as insurance and utilities. Expansion items, in order of priority, include the following: • Teacher Supplements (1% increase) $514,000 • Principal/Assistant Principal Supplements (1% increase) $40,000 • Administrators/Directors/Supervisors/Coordinators Supplements (2% increase) $24,000 • Lead Teachers (5 positions) $150,000 • Maintenance (2 roofers) $160,000 • Technology (Bandwidth) $150,000 Mr. Andrews said that their Capital Outlay Request is for $2,645,000, an increase of 14.34%. Most of this is for day-to-day and year-to-year upkeep of facilities and grounds. Major continuation items include athletic facility bleacher upgrades (safety and codes), parking lot replacement/repair and general upkeep, building improvements and repairs. Mr. Andrews mentioned that they have 101 modular units in place, with an additional need of 9 for growth system -wide at a cost of $54,000. They are also requesting the following: • Funding for the purchase of 3 buses ($210,000 total) • Replacement windows at schools ($25,000) • Walk-in freezer at Grays Chapel ($25,000 • Mobile lift to repair and service buses and trucks ($30,000) Mr. Andrews stated that the Archdale/Trinity Tax Council is requesting that the tax rate remain the same as last year: $.085 per $100 valuation. Asheboro City Schools Dr. Diane Frost, Superintendent, highlighted this year's accomplishments related to academic achievement and facility improvements. She said that the Board of Education completed a strategic planning process during the 2006-07 school year. Two major priorities resulted from this process: utilizing technology to enhance learning and recruiting and retaining the highest quality professionals. She stated that the FY 07-08 budget was prepared to align with strategic priorities established by the Board of Education. The major goal areas can be summarized as follows: high student achievement; quality teachers, administrators and staff, healthy students in safe, orderly and caring schools; strong family, business and community support; and effective and efficient operations. Dr. Frost said that the continuation budget was developed to sustain essential services for the benefit of their students. The most important of these is small class size. The factor that will have the greatest impact on the continuation budget is adjusting for DPI's over—projection of growth for the 2006-07 school year. DPI projected membership of 174 students more than actual in the 2006-07 school year. This over - projection resulted in more than $200,000 of state funding reversions in December of this past year. For 2007-08, DPI is projecting minimal growth in enrollment. Based on that projection, their state funding will be reduced by more than $400,000 from the 2006-07 initial allotments. June 11, 2007 The Randolph County Board of Commissioners met in special budget session at 4:00 p.m. in the Commissioners Meeting Room, County Office Building, 725 McDowell Road, Asheboro, NC. Commissioners Holmes, Frye, Haywood, Kemp, and Lanier were present. Budget Presentations Chairman Holmes announced that any department head satisfied with his/her budget could leave. Others were welcome to stay to discuss their budgets as proposed by the County Manager and Assistant County Manager/Finance Officer. Announcement David Townsend, III, Public Works Director, announced that a groundbreaking ceremony will be held on Monday, June 18. All interested parties should meet at 9:30 a.m. at the Franklinville Town Hall for a brunch buffet and then travel to a site to be announced later for the groundbreaking ceremony. Elections Patsy Foscue, Elections Director, asked the Board to fund a current part-time position to full-time. This office currently has only 2 full-time employees in the office. She said that there may be a total of three elections in the coming year. Maintenance James Chriscoe, Maintenance Director, requested 2 additional full-time positions for his department at $32,000 each. Planning & Zoning Hal Johnson, Planning & Zoning Director, asked the Board to consider replacing their half -ton pickup truck. This vehicle, which has 150,000 miles on it, is used for the roadside cleanup staff and is not reliable anymore. Sheriff & Jail Col. Allen McNeill, Chief Deputy, said that the Sheriffs Office needs four additional positions: a full-time training officer at the Jail (cost --$43,009), an Investigations Division detective for fraud and identify thefts, a Vice -Narcotics Division detective, and a detective to manage and follow-up on registered sex offenders in Randolph County (total cost of these three positions is $133,998). In addition, he requested that three deputy positions be upgraded to detective grade at a cost of $5,496 for all three. He also asked the Board for three new vehicles for a total cost of $63,000, $80,000 to expand the Holiday Pay buy-back program at the Jail, another $80,000 for increased operations at the Jail, $20,000 for a potential move of three units to another building, and an extra $24,000 for their fuel budget. He encouraged the Board to consider at least a 3.5% cost -of -living increase for all County employees. Lt. Aundrea Azelton, Capt. Barry Bunting and Capt. Tim Hasty spoke, each making his/her plea for the requested positions in their respective departments (Investigations, Records Identification and Training, and Vice -Narcotics Special Units Division). Sheriff Maynard Reid also spoke, asking the Board to fund these requests. Veterans Services Terry Van Vliet, Veterans Service Officer, asked the Board to fund a much-needed, second part-time position at a cost of $14,540.