The Plymouth School Board held a budget workshop on August 4. The workshop allows Board members to review the proposed 2016 budget before advertising it to the public. At the end of the meeting, the Board members voted unanimously, 4-0, to advertise the budget as presented. Board member Jenny Sickmiller was absent from the meeting.
PCSC Business Manager, Kandi Tinkey, provided the Board with copies of the lengthy list of reports that are required by the state and spoke to the proposed figures for each fund or area including, but not limited to, expenditures, instructional and support services along with Debt Services, Capital Projects, Transportation, Bus Replacement and the Rainy Day funds.
Tinkey said they estimated an enrollment of 3,700 students. The state will use that figure to provide tuition assistance per child to the school corporation. The numbers can be adjusted after the count days in September and February.
Tinkey outlined some of the changes at the state level that will affect the schools. Kindergarten students had been considered half-time in the past; however, schools that provided full-time instruction received additional funding. Now, kindergarten students will count as full-time and schools will receive the same tuition assistance per student as all other students in the corporation. Other changes include increased funding for career and technical education and students who qualify for SNAP, TANF assistance as well as that foster care. There are increases or decreases in funding for students enrolled in special education classes in categories of Severe, Mild/Moderate, or Homebound.
The 2016 budget hearing will be held at a Board meeting on September 1, 2015 and adoption at a meeting on October 6. Both meetings are open to the public.
In other matters, during the regular Board meeting held prior to the Budget Workshop, the Board approved a contract with the City of Plymouth for the School Resource Officer. The PCSC contribution is set at $30,000; however a matching grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute will reduce the payment to $15,000.
Carol Anders Correspondent
