South Central Making Progress on Budget

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Published on May 17 2018 5:41 pm
Last Updated on May 17 2018 5:41 pm
Written by Greg Sapp

South Central school board members Wednesday put an amended budget for the current fiscal year on display with a final vote on the measure expected at their June meeting.

Superintendent Kerry Herdes said things have improved since the budget was set last September. He said the budget began with a deficit of over $523,000 and has improved to a deficit of just over $45,000. The district did receive some late payments from the prior year and some additional funds from the state's Equitable Funding Bill. Herdes said the Board has taken advantage of several ways to cut deficit spending and maximize revenues whenever possible. He thanked staff members for efforts to make budget-conscious choices to reduce the deficit.

Herdes said it's nice to see the district's Strategic Improvement Plan and cost-saving measures actually show up in the amended budget. He said in the past two years' amended budgets, the State was running so far behind with payments it was hard to tell if the strategic choices were showing up on the bottom line, even though they knew savings were taking place.

Also Wednesday, the South Central board decided to continue its search for a new high school principal by posting the position though the Regional Offices of Education in the area. It's hoped a decision on a principal could be made by the end of May. Current principal Steve Phillips is leaving the district to become superintendent of the Mulberry Grove School District.

The Board hired Glass and Shuffett to do the audit of the past fiscal year; agreed to seek food bids; approved handbook changes for the elementary and middle school buildings; and named Don Hall as the Kaskaskia Special Education representative for the district.

The Board approved letters of retirement from Lisa Mazanek and Angie Rinkel, Mazanek as of the end of 21-22 school year, Rinkel as of the end of the 20-21 school year. Ted Kerner was named middle school baseball coach for the coming school year. Shelby McCarty and Kanady Grzegorek were hired as head cheerleading coaches for the coming school year. Amber Brink was hired as a certified staff member for the coming year; and the Board accepted the resignation of Gary Kapper as head girls high school basketball coach.