The Mason County Board of Education approved the Fiscal Budget for 2015/2016 this evening. MCEA was the only group represented at the meeting. I was given the budget highlights for the general current expense fund. Thank you to the board member who gave me his own copy.
These items were approved:
*School allocations from excess levy funds will remain at 2014-2015 levels.
*Dental and Vision employee benefits will remain at FY 15 levels for FY 16.
*Disability Benefits will be cut by 50% for FY 16 over FY 15 levels. This will save around $50,000. The changes to the Disability Plan are as follows: After October 1, 2015, employees will have to wait 180 days before applying for disability, and the benefits will only be for 2 years (currently 5 years). The plan will continue to pay 2/3 of employee's pay.
*There is funding for one new maintenance truck.
*$1,021,887 of estimated FY 15 carryover funds will be used to balance the budget.
*$1,000 attendance incentive was taken out of the budget to keep allocations and Dental/Vision benefits the same. This saved $200,000.
Mr. Hendricks was very helpful, explaining many of the reasons things were done. He recommended to the Board that for the FY 16 budget, be mindful before filling vacant positions. Mr. Nunnery asked if any Central Office staff were cut, and stated that he would rather position cuts be at the Central Office, and not in the schools.
The group also talked about other factors that will affect future budgets: Sporn closing; Medicaid benefits being lowered; loss of students in our system ($4,100 per student from State Aide).
BLS
These items were approved:
*School allocations from excess levy funds will remain at 2014-2015 levels.
*Dental and Vision employee benefits will remain at FY 15 levels for FY 16.
*Disability Benefits will be cut by 50% for FY 16 over FY 15 levels. This will save around $50,000. The changes to the Disability Plan are as follows: After October 1, 2015, employees will have to wait 180 days before applying for disability, and the benefits will only be for 2 years (currently 5 years). The plan will continue to pay 2/3 of employee's pay.
*There is funding for one new maintenance truck.
*$1,021,887 of estimated FY 15 carryover funds will be used to balance the budget.
*$1,000 attendance incentive was taken out of the budget to keep allocations and Dental/Vision benefits the same. This saved $200,000.
Mr. Hendricks was very helpful, explaining many of the reasons things were done. He recommended to the Board that for the FY 16 budget, be mindful before filling vacant positions. Mr. Nunnery asked if any Central Office staff were cut, and stated that he would rather position cuts be at the Central Office, and not in the schools.
The group also talked about other factors that will affect future budgets: Sporn closing; Medicaid benefits being lowered; loss of students in our system ($4,100 per student from State Aide).
BLS
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