Board of Education Approves Working Budget

By Eugenia Jones

The McCreary County Board of Education met in regular session earlier this week to approve the revised salary schedule and 2021-22 working budget.

The revised salary schedule reflects changes for the rate of pay for substitute transportation employees.  Acting on a motion by Board Member Johnny Barnett with a second by Sherry Duncan, the Board also voted unanimously to add a $1.00 per hour raise for all instructional assistants.  The instructional assistant pay increase will be reflected in the revised schedule.  

In discussion prior to approving the 2021-22 working budget, McCreary County School Superintendent Corey Keith expressed his pleasure with the District’s current financial status.

“I’m tickled at where we are financially,” Keith said.  “Additionally, we had a clean audit, we successfully completed our forensic audit and were released from monitoring.  Our ending balance is as big as it has ever been with 28% contingency.”

A few notable points to this year’s working budget are:

-General fund revenues are anticipated to be overall consistent with the prior year.  Total receipts are budgeted at approximately $26 million.  A few large items are:  SEEK revenues from the KY Department of Education ($15,099,428), property tax revenues ($1,661,000), all other tax revenues ($1,640,000), and reimbursements from Medicaid and other health organizations ($396,000.)

-General fund expenditures are anticipated to level back out in relation to prior years with the return to in-person instruction.  Funds have been budgeted for the purchase of four school buses and increased classified salaries (transportation/instructional assistants.)

-The Food Service fund has a budgeted ending contingency of $1, 243,438.

In other business, Deco Architect provided an update on plans for the renovation of McCreary County Middle School.  Architects shared one possible construction plan providing a new cafeteria/kitchen, band/chorus room, classrooms, and new parent pick-up area.

The next regular meeting of the McCreary County Board of Education will be on Monday, October 25, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. at Whitley City Elementary School.