MT. JUDEA — The Deer/Mt. Judea School District Board of Education approved the 2024-2025 school year budget at its monthly meeting held Sept. 23. The budget, showing anticipated expenditures of $5,689,298, was reviewed before the board and an audience of school patrons by Superintendent Bill Mazure.
He said the largest spending increase was in the areas of teacher salaries and benefits, due to a state-mandated minimum $50,000 salary for beginning teachers. The increase was a highlight of the LEARNS Act passed by the state legislature earlier this year.
Mizaur said he feels comfortable with the budget and even went so far as to predict the school district will remain financially sound for at least the next three years. He noted that finances depend primarily on student enrollment. Also, the state legislature is working on a new public education funding plan.
The school district had reversed a falling enrollment trend by initiating a successful digital learning curriculum for stay-at-home students. Enrollment again declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed to accelerate post-pandemic.
The school district also benefits greatly from federal funding and extra state funding received because of the school district's isolated school status.
Several patrons in the audience said seeing the actual budget projected on a screen set up in the cafetorium gave them some relief as there has been rumors of the opposite going around the community, saying finances were a problem the school district could not survive.
Mizaur assured them of the contrary, at least for the next several years.
He also noted the detailed information that goes into the budget and the checks and balances the state has in place.
He put that into perspective by presenting the board the findings of the latest school district audit for the 2022-2023 school year.
The Legislative Audit is performed annually, but is working behind.
The current audit covers the year just prior to Mizaur's hiring as superintendent.
The audit report is released publicly and it makes recommendations of findings for improvement.
There were over a dozen supplemental findings in the audit requiring the district to put into writing corrective action plans.
Mizaur said there were two significant findings, but corrective measures were already taken and accepted by the Joint Audit Committee and Mizaur avoided having to testify in person before the committee.
Those significant findings were: The fraudulent use of a school district credit card. About $1,800 was charged to a credit card without authorization. Apparently, the school was a victim of the theft and failed to recognize and report it to the financial institution within the required time frame. The matter was turned over to law enforcement and that investigation is still active, the superintendent explained. The credit card was apparently used by an unknown party to purchase pet supplies from a company on-line.
The other finding was unauthorized expenditure of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds that were available for educational resources through three federal stimulus bills: CARES, CRRSA, and ARP.
Mizaur said $34,957 were expended for building repairs and improvements without proper federal approval. The school district refunded the ESSER account with operational funds.
The board accepted the audit report along with its approval of the corrective actions taken.
Included in the budget is the continued payment on four school buses that are leased. The lease is coming to an end and the district has the option of paying off the balance owed, or continue financing payments on the balance owed for another two or three years. Mizaur recommending extending the loan for three years.
The board agreed and a formal motion was approved.
Another item in the budget is for the purchase of a science curriculum for grades 6, 7 and 8.
Deer science instructor Nathan Windel promoted its purchase, but said his frugal nature prompted him to say that the district didn't have to purchase all of the kits containing equipment and supplies all at one time.
The cost for all of the kits from OpenSciEd® totals about $26,000. They would be shared between students at both campuses as well as digital students.
"Teachers want them," Windel said. He suggested purchasing half of the kits for the Spring Semester. Teachers and students could try them out and see if they want to continue the curriculum into next fall.
He suggested the board allow him and the superintendent to meet and try to scale down the purchase.
The board agreed and gave its permission to go forward with the plan.
