NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. by: John Gerow (RVO) – Following Monday night’s approval of a “preliminary” 2019 – 2020 budget, the Directors of the Redbank Valley School District continue to develop responsible spending plans for the next school year. Finances and planning dominated the discussions at Thursday evening’s work session. School Directors discussed the upcoming budget process, suggestions for savings, and safety issues. Dee Bell and Darren Bain were unable to attend the work session.

Renovated Track June 2018

Superintendent Dr. John Mastillo opened the meeting by reporting on the progress that he has made with reconstructing the District’s Organizational Chart. Dr. Mastillo reported that he had not made many changes, adding the new positions as appropriate, and removing the number of persons employed in each position. According to the Superintendent, publishing the numbers requires an approval by the School Board with any change in the number of persons in each position.

Dr. Mastillo also reported on the recently completed Audit. The Auditors considered safety, security, and transportation structure as well as the district’s finances. The Superintendent said, “Nothing mentioned in the audit came as a surprise.” The Audit suggested that the district is doing a good job of documenting bus drivers. Auditors also addressed the decreasing Fund Balance; of which the Directors are keenly aware. A positive suggestion from the Auditors is that the District tighten up its billing process for students from other districts attending Redbank Valley Schools. The Auditors point out that inaccuracies in billing may be costing the district nearly $30,000 per year.

As the discussion returned to budgeting and finances, Dr. Mastillo outlined the deadline dates for the budget process. The proposed budget will be presented in May and a final budget approved in June. Superintendent Mastillo said that he is already meeting with administrators and department heads to help them develop their spending plans and budget requests for the 2019 – 2020 school year. He reported that both the high school and elementary/intermediate administrators have submitted spending plans that are less than actual spending for this year. Dr. Mastillo said that he has not yet received budget requests from the Cafeteria.

The discussion took an odd turn when Dr. Shaffer asked in a “balanced budget” was something the Board was still interested in. Directors discussed school spending and funding without developing any definitive consensus about a balanced budget.

Dr. Mastillo told the Directors that he has been reviewing the security assessment that the Pennsylvania State Police had done last year. Director Bill Reddinger said that there are several things in that assessment that can be implemented to enhance security without spending a lot of money. Dr. Mastillo said that he is expecting estimates on an enhanced 9-1-1 system and secured entry for the buildings shortly.

Board President Chad Shaffer asked Dr. Mastillo about the status of the remaining payment on the track renovation. Dr. Mastillo said that Nagle Construction has asked for about half of the remaining balance due to the track renovation. The Superintendent said that he told Nagle that until there has been a thaw, it was not possible to know if the drain repair had been successful. He said that he was withholding payment until he saw the drain working. Nagle Construction seems to be reluctant to complete some of the concrete repair, suggesting that the damage was done before the construction.

The discussion then turned to the previously tabled discussion of developing a Narcan policy within the District. The Superintendent said that he was going to propose that the school nurse, nursing aides, and game managers be trained. He said this would give the students the best possible Narcan coverage. The Board approved adding the Narcan policy to the Agenda for next Tuesday’s Board Meeting.

Dr Shaffer asked if it could be possible to figure out if changing the district’s lighting to LED had saved any money. Directors asked the Superintendent to try to determine the savings. This led to further discussions about electricity stewardship within the district. The Superintendent reminded the Board that the Black Lick Valley School District had saved $400,000 in electricity savings. Although Black Lick Valley is a bigger district, he says commensurate savings should be accessible to Redbank Valley.

Dr. Mastillo told the Board that he is concerned about wasting electricity in the building. He said that all of the computers were turned on when he went into the Library to set up for the meeting. Dr. Mastillo said that teachers and administrators must be more aware of, and more careful with electricity use. There are savings to be harvested by more careful stewardship of the district’s resources. He told the meeting that he was scheduling meetings with 2 consulting companies to help develop a strategy for better energy use in the district.

The Superintendent also told the Board that he is working with Mr. Patrick Bundy and Mrs. Barbara, Orange to modernize, update, repackage, and re-market their programs. He said that changing up “Home Ec” and “Shop” classes might bring more students in these programs.

The Board adjourned the public portion of the meeting and went into an Executive Session to discuss labor issues. The Board will meet Monday evening, February 4 at 6:30 pm in the High School Cafeteria.

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ABOUT:
Redbank Valley School District provides education services for the 165 square mile area of New Bethlehem and Hawthorn boroughs, and the townships of Mahoning, Madison, Porter, and Redbank of both Clarion and Armstrong counties.

MEETINGS:
The Redbank Valley School Board meetings the first Monday of every month at 7pm at the High School Library.

CONTACT:
For more information about the Redbank Valley School District, please call 814.275.2426 or visit RedbankValley.org/pg/biz/redbank-valley-school-district