A general fund budget reduction of $500,000 this fiscal year for New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. won’t make a dent in the approximately $3.2 million that needs to be cut out of the 2010 budget that was approved Monday night.

That’s according to Fred McWhorter, director of business for the district.

McWhorter said after Monday night’s school board meeting that the district commonly advertises a high budget to maximize what they can get. He said that $500,000 was already being counted on being held over to help with the pending shortfall.

Where that $3.2 million will come from is still unclear. McWhorter said a plan will be brought before the board sometime in November outlining what can be cut and places where the district may be able to pull in some more money.

The approved 2010 budget totals $113,577,813.



HAZELWOOD LAND

Hazelwood Middle School will soon have more land to call its own.

The school board, which already purchased the corner lot off Myrtle Avenue across from the school, voted 6-1 to buy a home next to it for $68,000.

Lee Ann Wiseheart, board vice president, was the lone dissenting vote. She said as a licensed Indiana appraiser, she is against how the district’s two appraisers came up with the price by comparing the one bedroom home to two bedroom ones.

“I don’t think $68,000 is the amount you want to spend on a one bedroom home you are going to level out,” she said, adding that she’s not against property acquisition.

Brad Snyder, deputy superintendent, said this money was in the capital projects fund budget. He said the additional property will help the flow of traffic between buses and car riders. Snyder said he hopes to have Myrtle become a two-way street in that area and create a road cutting through the new property, connecting Myrtle with Hazelwood Avenue to alleviate traffic woes. The plan includes demolishing the existing home on that land.

The board also approved a resolution allowing Snyder to talk to the other four property owners on that block to hear their thoughts on selling. If all the property was purchased, Snyder said it would make a good parking lot. However, he said it would likely take years to make all those acquisitions.



BACKGROUND CHECKS

In light of the recent arrest of a custodian who had not had a background check completed, due to being hired before those started, the board discussed a new personnel background check policy.

The first draft of the policy said that employees are to self report any conviction of a criminal charge to the superintendent within two business days of the occurrence. However, the board felt it needed to be toughened up.

Roger Whaley, board president, said the policy leaves room for those who are charged and not yet convicted.

“We are in the business of protecting children, so I’m in favor of reporting [charges and convictions],” Wiseheart added.

Rebecca Gardenour, board member, asked why doesn’t the board do background checks once a year to see if anything new comes up.

Bill Briscoe, assistant to the superintendent for administration and operations who drafted the policy, said that would be expensive, costing about $18,000 a year.

“We’re investigating right now where our holes are now in our system,” Briscoe said.

Briscoe said he’s been told that about 40 percent of facility workers were hired before the background checks started. However, some employees, like teachers, are checked more often, such as when job assignments are changed or a license needs to be renewed.

Briscoe said he’s unsure if it’d be legal to require people to report charges and/or if people can be punished for not doing so. He said he will consult with some lawyers and come back to the board at a future date.



H1N1 UPDATE

Briscoe also updated the board on the recent vaccination clinics held at some of the district’s schools.

He said 30 percent of students took advantage of the free H1N1, or swine flu, vaccines during the first round at Mount Tabor Elementary, Children’s Academy of New Albany and Green Valley Elementary.

At Pine View and Floyds Knobs elementaries, Friday 42 percent participated, he added.

“Right now, we’re waiting for more vaccine,” Briscoe said of vaccinating children at other schools. “We’re ready as soon as the health department calls us.”