Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Administration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bath County board approves tentative FY‑25 budget, mock‑trial stipends, copier contract and routine MOUs
Summary
The Bath County Board of Education on May 19 approved the district’s tentative FY‑25 budget, added a $2,000 mock‑trial coaching stipend to the extra‑service salary schedule plus a retroactive payment, approved a copier/printer contract, and approved multiple routine MOUs and travel requests included on the consent agenda.
The Bath County Board of Education on May 19 approved the district’s tentative fiscal year 2025 budget, adopted several personnel and program items and confirmed routine memoranda of understanding included on the consent agenda.
Budget: The board approved the FY‑25 tentative budget, which staff said is built on Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) per‑pupil allocations and the salary schedules the board approved in April. The tentative budget includes two additional aid positions (to be filled if needed), funding for two school buses, and continued funding for four school resource officers (SROs). Staff reported a contingency of $850,000, or 3.39% of the budget; staff noted the minimum statutory contingency requirement is 2%.
Personnel and stipends: The board added a $2,000 coaching stipend for mock trial to the 2025‑26 extra‑service salary schedule, and separately approved a retroactive $2,000 payment to the coach who served the 2024‑25 season. Both measures passed unanimously.
Contracts and MOUs: The board approved a one‑year copier/printer contract award to ProSource after a district bid process that used a rubric to compare cost and quality. The board approved several consent agenda items including a memorandum of understanding with the Kentucky Writing Project (staff said the KWP will pay the salary for one position and the district will receive instructional coaching), a Gateway Oral Health annual MOA to provide elementary oral‑health programming, a Maysville Community and Technical College dual‑credit MOA for Bath County High School students, an annual K‑9 resources agreement for drug‑detection dogs at a cost of $8,412, a Mountain Comprehensive Care MOU for school‑based mental‑health services, summer feeding pay rates (managers $15.00/hour, head cooks $13.50/hour, cooks $12.50/hour), and a surplus items list.
Travel and grant‑funded trips: The board approved travel requests including a Wilderness Education Project grant opportunity that will take selected students to Washington, D.C., at no cost to those students; teacher Ashley Meniere said she has collected applications and will select up to 12 students to attend and that students will receive a $400 stipend card for incidentals.
Other business: The board authorized staff to publish a request for bids to harvest hay at the Crossroads property (a bid process that the district uses to allow private bidders to harvest and retain hay in exchange for property maintenance). The board approved the motion to solicit bids and said the district will draw the winning bidder by lot from among acceptable proposals in past practice.
Votes were recorded by voice with motions made and seconded; most actions carried unanimously.
What the board emphasized: staff noted rising property‑insurance premiums as a driver of higher budgeted insurance costs, and said some program increases reflect implementing new reading and math interventions and additional professional development. The tentative budget will be refined into a working budget in September with final adoption later in the fiscal cycle.
The board also recognized retirees at the meeting; that recognition was ceremonial and not part of the board’s substantive actions.
Votes at a glance: consent agenda (includes listed MOUs, grants, travel, summer feeding rates, surplus list) — motion by Carla, second by Ashley; passed. ProSource copier contract award — motion by Carla, second by Ashley; passed. Mock‑trial stipend addition ($2,000 on extra‑service schedule) — motion by Carla, second by Ashley; passed. Retroactive $2,000 payment to the mock‑trial coach for 2024‑25 — motion by Carla, second by Kim; passed. FY‑25 tentative budget approval — motion by Carla, second by Kim; passed. Final calendar amendment approval — motion by Carla, second by Kim; passed. Authorization to solicit bids for Crossroads hayfield mowing/harvest — motion by Carla, second by Ashley; passed.
The district clerk recorded the motions and voice votes; staff said they will return with finalized numbers and documentation as the budget progresses and as procurement or project work requires.
