The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. is planning a $116 million budget for 2019, a 1 percent increase over this year.
School board members learned Monday that the budget is expected to go up from $115,091,987 this year to $116,435,226 in 2019.
A public hearing on next year’s budget will be held Sept. 24, followed by a school board vote four weeks later.
The budget for 2018, approved a year ago, has reflected a 1.4 percent increase over 2017.
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The district’s preliminary tax rate for 2019 will be consistent with the average of the past six to eight years, with the final rate set by the state in January, said Chad Phillips, assistant superintendent for financial services.
Factors contributing to the budget increase for next year include raises for teachers and other staff members, an increase in substitute teacher costs and higher utility expenses.
In June, the school board voted to approve 2.5 percent pay increases for 1,300 individuals in the school corporation, which includes administrators and support staff. The prior year, these BCSC employees received a 2 percent salary increase.
Teachers will receive a $1,200 step increase in 2018-19 under an agreement with the Columbus Educators Association that was approved last fall, while average teacher raises for 2017-18 were 3.2 percent, Phillips said.
Changes by the state legislature are requiring school districts to build their 2019 budgets with two new funds — education and operations, Phillips said.
Under the changes, the education fund replaces the district’s general fund, while the operations fund replaces its capital projects, transportation and bus replacement funds, Phillips said. The adjustments resulted in the district having to shift expenditures in designated funds into one of the two new categories, he said.
For example, educational expenditures that were previously considered for operations were added to the education fund, while operational expenses that were previously targeted for education were removed, Phillips said.
School resource officers
The district is also budgeting $300,000 for three additional school resource officers next year.
Of those three positions, two would be based at the middle schools in the city, while the third would have responsibilities for several elementary schools, Superintendent Jim Roberts said.
The school district and the City of Columbus Police Department launched the school resource officer program in January 2014 with two school-based officers:
Julie Quesenbery, based at Columbus East High School, also with responsibility for Central Middle School and McDowell Education Center.
Eric Stevens, based at Columbus North High School, also with responsibility for Northside Middle School.
Roberts said the district is planning to place new resource officers at Central and Northside middle schools. The third position would be based at Southside Elementary School and would be in proximity to Mt. Healthy, Taylorsville and Rockcreek rural elementary schools, Roberts said.
Roberts said the city and the county are currently working through their 2019 budgets, but he expressed optimism that the resource-officer requests will be approved. The school district reimburses the city for the salary and benefits of existing school resource officers, Columbus Police Chief Jon Rohde said.
The school district’s goal is to have the three new school resource officers in place by Jan. 1, but that depends on what the Columbus Police Department and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department are able to provide, Roberts said.
School safety/security
Roberts updated school board members on progress involving school safety improvements being made across the school corporation. The district has implemented security measures in building entrance vestibules at all but one of its school buildings, Roberts said.
Visitors seeking access to school buildings are required to press an intercom button from a vestibule that would allow them to speak to someone in the main office.
Software used to perform background checks on visitors using a person’s identification card such as a driver’s license when they enter the main office is in place across the district, Roberts said.
In addition, the district is also waiting for software and hardware to arrive for badges that will be issued to BCSC staff members. Roberts said the district hopes to have those badges issued before fall break, which begins Oct. 8.
The badges would allow BCSC staff members into a designated building similar in how a key fob is used, Roberts said.
Roberts told board members that the district is working with attorneys and education association groups in an effort to determine the best practices and policies regarding the use of metal detectors.
In August, BCSC decided to take advantage of an offer from the state, which provided hand-held metal detectors to school districts free of charge. Under the state program, one metal detector was made available for every 250 students enrolled in public, charter and accredited private schools.
The school board will have to establish a policy before utilizing the devices, Roberts said.
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A public hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 24 on the district’s 2019 budget at Taylorsville Elementary School, 9711 Walnut St. The school board will consider adopting the budget during its Oct. 22 meeting at Columbus Signature Academy Fodrea Campus.
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