Colfax schools cut over $80,000 in next year’s budget

Garth Meyer | Jul 28, 20110

Colfax School board Monday approved a 2011-12 budget, took in a review of the high school’s vision statement and hired a new C.H.S. athletic director.

The approved budget is $5,945,305, which is $80,690 less than last year.

In projected revenues vs. expenditures, the board approved spending up to $6,032,959 if needed. Further spending would require an amendment.

The meeting began with a work session in which district business manager Reece Jenkin went over the numbers.

With $235,461 in cuts from last year’s budget, he noted a projected $87,654 deficit for 2011-12. Jenkin believes that could be reduced over the course of the year.

“I am confident we will have a balanced budget by the end of the year,” he said.

The most significant cuts from last year include a $104,000 loss of Federal Stimulus money and $50,000 less in what is called Local Effort Assistance, also known as levy equalization. The latter changed due to an increase in the state’s assessed value of land in the Colfax district.

All told, the cuts added up to a particular challenge for the district.

“We’re in a position now, after the last three years where we can’t afford to go into reserves anymore,” Jenkin said.

Jenkin reported that 80 percent of the district’s costs go to salaries and benefits.

Areas which offer hope to make up the shortfall will be utilities, insurance and the motorpool, which Jenkin noted has spent less than projected in the past two years.

“We are hoping this trend continues,” he said.

The motorpool includes expenditures for school district vehicles and staff travel.

After the work session, President Brian Becker opened the board meeting.

“Say something positive,” he began.

Jenkin answered the request by handing out a letter from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) giving an “outstanding” grade for the district school bus inspections.

Colfax High School Principal Gary Weitz spoke next, going over the high school’s Building Direction Plan Vision Statement with the board.

The statement is posted on walls at Colfax High School and designates the culture the administration and staff intend to nurture.

Earlier this spring, Weitz led a group that met with all staff individually to review and champion the goals of the statement.

Sentence two addresses adjusting to “future needs and educational trends in progress.” Weitz added a related comment.

“The brick and mortar school, as you and I know it, is disappearing,” he said.

Sentence three states the school’s mission to hire people of “character, high moral standards and teamwork.”

“I feel like we have been extremely successful in this area,” Weitz added.

The final sentence – regarding how the previous elements will lead to “high achievement and success” – offered room for improvement, Weitz indicated.

“We need to begin to really focus in on our math,” he said. He elaborated, then added, “I agree very firmly in teaching to the test.”

From there, the fiscal report was approved unanimously, as well as the 2011-12 budget.

“Do your magic, Reece,” said boardmember Kathy Wride about the push to recover the charted deficit.

“I will find a way,” said Jenkin.

Next on the agenda was bus bids, for which the board approved a bid to buy one new bus from Harlow’s Bus Sales.

In personnel, Weitz and Wride recounted the hiring process for the athletic director, in which three candidates were brought in for interviews. Both Weitz and Wride talked highly of Scott Randall, who was approved unanimously.

The board will meet again Aug. 29.