CROTHERSVILLE
Since a referendum failed in the primary election, Crothersville Community School Corp. officials continue to work on transferring less money from the education fund to the operations fund.
The corporation had been transferring 29%, but the Indiana Department of Education is moving toward not wanting districts to transfer more than 15% of the money they receive in their education fund to the operations fund, Superintendent Terry Goodin said.
“If you do, you have to explain why you’re doing that, so Terry (Richey, corporation treasurer) has been trying to monitor that very closely,” Goodin said during Monday’s public hearing on the 2021 budget at the central administration building.
Dale Schmelzle, president of the board of trustees, asked Richey if she foresees going above 15% this calendar year, and she said yes.
“We’re going to try to fix that and not have that happen in 2021,” she said.
Goodin said the hope is to lower the percentage as the years go on.
“That’s what the referendum was going to replace was that money that we were borrowing from the education fund to put into the operations fund,” he said.
In the primary election, 381 Vernon Township residents voted against the referendum tax levy resolution that appeared on the ballot, while 321 voted for it. There are 2,326 registered voters in the three precincts that represent Vernon Township, so that means 30% voted.
If the referendum would have passed, Vernon Township residents would have seen a property tax rate increase of no more than 63 cents per $100 of assessed valuation for eight calendar years.
That would have been in addition to all other property taxes imposed by the corporation for the purpose of funding academic and educationally related programs, including the attraction and retention of teachers, expanding academic programs and providing support for students with special needs.
In January 2018, five school corporation funds were combined into two.
The education fund is dedicated to paying for salaries and benefits for teachers, principals, aides, substitutes and school office workers; supplies, materials and equipment for classrooms; and some programming. No local property tax dollars go to the fund, as it is funded by the state based on student enrollment.
The operations fund is dedicated to nonclassroom expenditures. At Crothersville, that includes the salaries of Goodin, his two staff members, custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and maintenance personnel. The fund also includes expenses related to utilities, liability insurance, transportation, capital projects and bus replacement. The fund is based on the corporation’s assessed value.
Crothersville has been transferring more than $820,000 a year from the education fund to the operations fund. The referendum would have allowed the corporation to replace the money it has lost to get below the 15% transfer mark.
Goodin said over the past eight years, the corporation has lost more than $1 million a year, but the referendum was only asking for $820,000 to replace that.
Money generated from the referendum also would have allowed the corporation to provide raises to employees.
For 2021, the corporation is requesting an adopted budget of $2,251,632 for the education fund, $1,869,707 for the operations fund, $668,127 for the debt service fund and $199,442 for the school pension debt fund.
With debt service and school pension debt, Richey said payments are made twice a year — January and July. Debt service is used to pay building fund payments, so that amount is basically set in stone, she said. The school pension debt is for retirement debt fund payments, and it’s basically right down to the penny of the adopted budget, she said.
Goodin said the corporation won’t be purchasing any school buses in 2021 because it doesn’t have the money to do so.
“You have to put together a plan, and the money that we have to neutralize our pension debt is money that would come out of that bus replacement, so we won’t have money to purchase buses with,” he said. “Anything that we raise in taxes in the pension debt, that has to be neutralized somewhere else in the budget. … Bus replacement is the first place that comes out of for us.”
Schmelzle asked how many years buses can run until they need to be replaced, and Goodin said the maximum is 16.
Goodin also said the corporation doesn’t have any capital projects on the radar in 2021.
Next year’s budget will be up for approval at the board’s next meeting, set for 6 p.m. Sept. 14 at the central administration building.
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What: Crothersville Community School Corp. board of trustees meeting
When: 6 p.m. Sept 14
Where: Central administration building, 201 S. Preston St., Crothersville
Who: Open to the public and press
On the agenda: Trustees will consider approval of the 2021 budget
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