LIMESTONE BOE: Cost-saving measures remain focus

Published 6:30 am Saturday, December 1, 2018

The Limestone County Board of Education considered a handful of money-saving options and how best to spend the remainder of their leveraged funds during a work session Thursday.

In a continued effort to shore up the district’s faltering budget, the board asked some of the system’s directors to come up with additional cost-saving options. One option the board considered but later rejected would have required maintenance workers to store their work vehicles at the system’s bus barn instead of at their homes. Rusty Bates, director of athletics and transportation, said the measure could potentially save the system $69,000 in fuel and vehicle wear and tear each year.

The board, however, was concerned it would delay response times to emergency situations such as water leaks or fires.

“Our guys are the first responders when something needs to be repaired,” said Steve Wallace, director of maintenance. “… We have guys all over the county, and we’re able to get to the schools quickly. Take, for example, the fire at West Limestone four weeks ago. If we wouldn’t have gotten over there so quickly, the damage would have been far worse.”

Although the board wasn’t keen on this particular measure, Bret McGill, the newly designated chairman of the board, said the board wants district leaders to continue to look at ways to cut spending.

Board member Bradley Young said the board wants to avoid giving the impression it is sitting around and waiting for revenues from the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA plant.

“That is why we are asking for these cost-saving measures,” Young said.

Spending money

The board also considered how best to spend $552,000 in leveraged funds that must be allocated by September 2019. Wallace provided the board several options, including roof repairs at several schools, a new administrative suite at Tanner Elementary, and new bleachers in the small gymnasiums at Ardmore and East Limestone High Schools. According to Wallace, it would cost the system $490,000 to coat the roofs at Ardmore High, Tanner Elementary, Tanner High, West Limestone High and the Alabama Connections portion of the former Owens Elementary school building with a new technology called HydroStop premium coat. The sealant comes with a 20-year warranty and will greatly prolong the life of the roofs, Wallace said.

As it stands, none of the roofs on Wallace’s list are leaking, and the rest of the roofs throughout the district are in good shape.

Adding an administrative suite at the entrance of Tanner Elementary continues to be a top priority for board member Charles Shoulders, but Wallace said he is not sure if there is enough money.

“Initially, our architect told us it would cost $450,000,” Wallace said. “But building and material costs have gone up since then, so I’m not sure if what we have in leveraged funds would even cover it.”

The bleachers at East Limestone and Ardmore High Schools date back to 1986, Wallace said. Although they are still safe, he said they are difficult to pull in and out of the wall and should be replaced soon. Wallace rolled in the cost of roof repairs at the former Owens Elementary building, Tanner Elementary and West Limestone into the bleacher project, bringing the total to $525,000.

Waiting to decide

A fourth option, which McGill favored, is waiting six months and then reevaluating their options.

“Something could come up, we don’t know,” Wallace said. “The roofs are not leaking, and now is the worst time of the year to do roofing projects because of the weather.”

“It won’t cost us any more money if we wait six months,” McGill said. “I don’t want us to get pushed into make a decision.”

Detailed strategy

During the work session, the board also expressed their disappointment in the strategic plan set forth by AdvancED, the system’s accrediting agency.

“We want a more detailed strategic plan that maybe we help develop,” McGill said. “At the beginning of the year, we will start drafting our own strategic plan that will fit into AdvancED’s plan but will be tailored to the needs of our schools.”

As the new chairman, McGill said he hopes to lead the board on a continued path of fiscal responsibility.

“We want to be very deliberate about where our money goes, what we build and what projects we approve,” he said. “We want to make sure those expenditures fall within our strategic plan, that everything we do is sound and makes sense.”