School board to get preview of tough financial road ahead

2010-01-26

By Martha Barksdale

Finances will be a major topic at tonight's meeting of the Fayette County Board of Education, but until some details are ironed out at the state level, the board will not be making any decisions on a revised spending plan.

Still, school system officials are bracing for bad news from the state--but just how bad remains to be seen.

The school board's agenda calls for a presentation on the 2011 budget tonight, but the presentation contains no concrete information--just an exploration of most of the variables that will affect school system finances for the remainder of this fiscal year and for the 2011 fiscal year.

Those variables include state austerity cuts, the local five mill share calculation, the tax digest and health insurance costs. Superintendent John DeCotis said last week that no decisions can be made until the legislature finalizes a spending plan in March or April.

The board will also hear a proposal from Facilities Director Mike Satterfield to consolidate several school system departments at the old East Fayette Elementary building.

Satterfield's proposal calls for the facilities services department, now scattered in several locations around the county, to the old school. The department's main offices are currently at the Lafayette Education Center, and it has materials, trucks and equipment stored at several sites, including Kiwanis Field and in Woolsey.

Satterfield will also recommend that food services be moved to East Fayette. The school's kitchen was renovated just before it closed and would be excellent for training new employees, his report notes.

Tonight's meeting will be the first since the board voted two weeks ago to move its meetings from Monday to Tuesday. They said moving the meetings gives school system staff more time to research issues on the agenda.

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