Board sets $3.77M operating warrant, debates paraprofessional contract and trust funds
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Summary
At a public hearing the board set the operating warrant at $3,770,200, read a draft paraprofessional collective bargaining warrant article with an estimated first‑year cost of about $39,392, and reallocated expendable trust warrant amounts—raising the special‑education trust—after discussion of high potential out‑of‑district special‑education costs.
The Newfields School Board moved to place an operating budget warrant of $3,770,200 on the ballot and discussed a series of accompanying warrant articles, including a three‑year collective bargaining agreement for paraprofessionals and several expendable trust funds.
During the budget presentation, staff outlined key drivers: negotiated increases for union and nonunion employees (nonunion employees set at 3 percent), stepped increases for teachers per the CBA, health and dental rate increases quoted by HealthTrust, an added $4,000 in professional development, and bus‑contract adjustments with First Student. The presenters said the net budget change presented totaled $141,500, of which about $8,000 represents new increases while facilities costs fell by approximately $36,500.
The board read a draft warrant article for the paraprofessional collective bargaining agreement that described three years of cost items. The draft listed a first‑year estimated cost item of about $39,392; members flagged inconsistencies and a likely typographical error in alternate figures read from the draft and asked staff to correct the numbers before packets are finalized. The board noted the language follows the statutory requirement to present ‘cost items’ for voter approval.
Public questions during the hearing focused on the treatment of anticipated grant revenue (roughly $104,000 in the packet). Staff cautioned that grants are anticipated but not guaranteed until received and that the budget presentation assumes the grant revenue; absent receipt the district could not count on those funds and would have to account for the difference through later public processes or by drawing on other appropriations.
Board members discussed the special‑education trust fund at length. Presenters said special‑education risks can be large and unpredictable: out‑of‑district placements and related specialized transportation or tuition can run into the low hundreds of thousands of dollars per year; board members cited past experiences where multiple out‑of‑district placements produced multi‑year costs above $200,000. Given that volatility the board supported boosting the special‑education expendable trust.
After discussion the board voted to move draft warrant articles forward with revised trust fund amounts: $25,000 for the school building maintenance expendable trust, $28,000 for the special‑education trust fund, $1,000 for the technology capital reserve, and $1,000 for the safety and security capital reserve. The motion to put $3,770,200 on the warrant carried by voice vote.
Next steps: staff will correct and finalize wording and numeric typos in the draft warrant language, prepare final warrant articles for signature, and post the documents for the deliberative session and the March vote.