BFR Committee Mtg - Nov. 10, 2008

[Guest sullinss]

School District No. 2, Yellowstone County

High School District No. 2, Yellowstone County

Billings, Montana

 

November 10, 2008

Call to Order

 

The Budgeting For Results Committee of School District No. 2, Yellowstone County and High School District No. 2, Yellowstone County, Montana met at Lincoln Center, 415 North 30th Street, Billings, Montana, on Monday, November 10, 2008. Vice-Chair Joel Guthals called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and led those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance. Committee members present were: Joel Guthals, Mary Jo Fox, Paige Darden, Deana Elder, Rod Gottula, Ross Johnson, Jane McCracken and Peter Grass. Members Shanna Henry, Don Stanaway, Bruce McIntyre, Joan Sleeth, Kelly Donovan, Malcolm Goodrich were absent. Also present was CFO Thomas Harper, and Trustee Kathy Aragon,

 

Communication From the Public

 

No one wished to address the Committee at this time.

 

Consent Agenda

 

Joel Guthals removed item A-1, Minutes of October 13, 2008 and item A-7, Approve ING as Third Party Administrator for 403(b) Agreement from the Consent Agenda to be considered as separate items.

 

Mary Jo moved to recommend Board approval of the remaining Consent Agenda items as follows:

2. Addition of Wal-Mart Recycling Trust Fund Account at Eagle Cliffs

3. Addition of Advocates ECA Fund Account at Senior High

4. Addition of Computer Technology Club ECA Account at Senior High

5. Addition of Exxon Science Grant Trust Fund Account at Lincoln/Curriculum

6. Addition of Ponderosa Library ECA Account at Ponderosa

Jane McCracken seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

 

Minutes of October 13, 2008

 

Under the item discussing the Rocky Mountain Proposed Lease Purchase Agreement of Rimrock School, on page 7 of the agenda, the sentence was amended to read “Chair Goodrich said now we vote on the original motion as amended: that this Committee recommends to the Board that Rimrock School shall not be sold at this time.”

 

Peter Grass moved to recommend the Board approve the Minutes of October 13, 2008 as amended. Mary Jo Fox seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

 

Approve ING as Third Party Administrator for 403(b) Agreement

 

Joel updated the Committee with respect to the 403(b) Plan. In October this Committee recommended the Board approve the recommended vendors except for AIG and Hartford and requested further investigation and due diligence be done on AIG and Hartford to demonstrate that they were safe and sound companies. Prior to the October Board Meeting, Administration contacted those two providers and asked them to provide information and make a presentation to the Board on the safety and soundness of their operations and their qualifications. They did give those presentations explaining their status and demonstrating they could handle these investments safely and soundly and they were not in jeopardy, nor were their investments. As a result of their presentations, the Board unanimously approved them as part of the total five vendors for the 403(b) Plan.

 

Mary Jo Fox moved to recommend Board approval of ING as Third Party Administrator for the 403(b) Agreement. Peter Grass seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

 

Bills Paid – October, 2008

 

New members will be added to the e-mail list to automatically receive a list of warrants paid.

 

The Committee reviewed the bills paid for October, 2008. Mary Jo Fox moved to recommend the Board approve the bills paid for October, 2008. Jane McCracken seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

 

Financial Reports – October, 2008

 

The Committee reviewed the financial reports for October, 2008. Thomas reported we are one-third into the fiscal year; and, there are no unusual or extraordinary occurrences to report. The CARE Program currently has a deficit of $16K. They have cut staff and program sites to cut expenses. United Way will be taking over this program next year.

 

Thomas will report back to Committee members regarding their questions on the following items:

Page 57 – Flex Fund – 67.21% revenue received

Page 57 – Driver Education – 69.0% revenue received

Page 57 – Interlocal Agreement – 36.12% revenue received

Page 66 – Other Purchased Svcs – 52.95% of budget spent – what is this?

Page 66 – Supplies & Materials – 33.02% of budget spent

 

By the end of the fiscal year, we should be right on target with our budget.

 

Health Insurance – Financials – September, 2008 (Unaudited)

 

The Committee reviewed the unaudited Health Insurance Financials for September, 2008. Thomas reported that the Income Statement year-to-date Revenues Less Expenditures shows a deficit of $182,789.05. This may be due to higher than anticipated claims and/or not reporting all revenue. $180K may be from payroll rollovers. Last year we forecasted a 10% increase in insurance claims; and, they settled on a 2% increase in premiums. We still have a fund balance of $3.8M; however, our Health Insurance Charter only calls for a $2.2M balance and the Actuary says we need $1.8M. The Insurance Committee recommended we increase our premiums 2%, and that’s what the budget was built on.

 

It was questioned what the District was doing as far as preventative health care for employees. There is also an independent insurance auditor/health care provider that saved the Hardin School District a large sum of money without cutting services. Are there things our District should be investigating for health care savings?

 

Mary Jo Fox moved to require the Insurance Committee to appear before this Committee at the next meeting and explain the situation with the Insurance Fund and to answer questions. Peter Grass seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.

 

Other Items for General Information

 

Thomas reported at a recent meeting of AA School Districts there is a general belief that State funding will remain level. There is little confidence mill levies will pass, most AA Districts are at budget cap, and most AA Districts used attrition and eliminated staff.

 

Some general thoughts/ideas regarding school budgets by Committee members were as follows:

• How many electives have less than 15-20 students?

• Do remedial courses cost more than advanced courses? Bill Gates’ studies suggest the opposite.

• Start talking to the public now about a mill levy; and, use the internet to address those young professionals that access the internet vs. the local paper

• Publish positive school statistics on TV

• Examine possibility of reducing permissive levies to help lower taxes

• Explore advertising options – some school districts advertise on school buses/vehicles

• “Sell” mill levy in detail rather than by means of stating what will be cut if they don’t vote for it; prioritize electives

• More publicity on what’s been done to save money

• Involve the public in the budget as a year-around process

 

Adjournment

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:12 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

Joel Guthals, Vice-Chair

 

 

 

 

Sherrill Sullins, Recorder