Sandra Clark
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Revenue
sources for Knox County Schools
State revenue – 41.3%
County property tax – 29%
Local sales tax – 27%
Federal, fees, etc. – 2.7%
Expenses
Salaries & benefits – 83.5%
Materials & utilities – 6.3%
Contracted services (including transportation) – 5.7%
Other (includes debt from operations budget) – 4.5%
Doing the right thing
It was a slim
crowd that showed up at
West
High School last week to
hear Superintendent Dr. Jim McIntyre outline his budget proposal and
offer feedback.
In fact, only
two citizens rattled around in the huge auditorium. (The balance of us
worked for media or Knox County.)
It’s too bad,
really, because McIntyre gave a masterful performance, and the schools’
needs are great.
But McIntyre
didn’t push panic buttons. He didn’t threaten to shut down music or
sports. He didn’t saber rattle against
County
Commission. And, at the
end, he said a word I’ve never heard from an administrator in 40 years
of school board watching.
In response
to the father of a special needs child who argued that less adversarial
parent-teacher conferences (called IEPs) would be cost-effective
overall, McIntyre noted that less fussing and more collaboration would
be “morally” right.
We’ve had
superintendents with political clout and others with scores to settle;
smart ones and less smart. We’ve got one now who aims to manage the
system within the budget he’s given to work with, while advocating new
programs and accountability for results. He deserves more support than
he got last Tuesday.
In a
nutshell, McIntyre restated his priorities – focus on the student,
effective educators, engaged parents and community, and infrastructure
to enable student learning.
He noted that
last year’s board-adopted budget was accepted and funded by the
commission, without change. Two commissioners present, Ed Shouse and
Finbarr Saunders, nodded.
This fiscal year, assuming revenues are flat,
McIntyre expects to start in a $19.2 million hole. Deficit drivers
are a potential $6.2 million extra to keep the pension fund
actuarially sound and $4 million for state-mandated step pay
increases.
McIntyre said administrators will examine every
aspect of spending before submitting a budget to the school board.
He anticipates a board vote in April. McIntyre will be at Karns High
at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 9, and at Central High at 6 p.m. Thursday,
March 25. People who care about Knox County Schools should be there
too.
Helping in Haiti
County Commissioner and heart surgeon Richard Briggs reported
on his 10-day medical mission to Haiti, a trip sponsored by the local
Sacred Heart Cathedral.
Haiti’s
Jan. 12 earthquake killed 230,000 people and left a million
homeless. By contrast, a much more severe earthquake in Chile
killed about 800 people, 300 from a tidal wave, because of tougher
building standards, he said.
You would
think there would be a clearing house for medical and rescue
volunteers, Briggs said, but “when we arrived in
Port-au-Prince, there was nothing.”
By
word-of-mouth, the Knoxville-based team found a hospital. “We had
200 patients without cots or beds. They had open wounds, fractures.
We put plates on broken bones and I did skin grafts.”
Each day,
a team member was dispatched to find food. On Briggs’ day, he found
two jars of unopened peanut butter and some bread. He brought back a
picture of a hog’s head floating in a pail and joked that was lunch
for the next day. “They didn’t let me go back out.”
Why care
about Haiti?
Briggs
said there are people there who are really suffering. “We lost a
couple of babies who simply starved.
“And it’s
really rewarding to (practice medicine) in a place where people
appreciate what you do.”
Briggs
carried back the memory of a young Haitian medical student whose
school was destroyed. “Please, don’t forget me,” he said. “I want to
(become a doctor to) help my people.”
Briggs is
now networking with medical schools to get the student relocated
here for training. He saw relief groups from
France, the USA, Mexico and even Cuba. In response to a question, he
suggested donations be made to GiveHaitiHope.org or Doctors without
Borders.
HPUD sets vote on
new rates
Commissioners of Hallsdale-Powell Utility District are set to vote
today (March 8) at 1:30 p.m. on a rate increase of 7.5 percent for
both sewer and water. Although the increase outpaces inflation, it
is less than the 9 percent increase earlier projected.
President
Darren Cardwell said, “I feel fortunate to come in where we’re at,
considering the year we’ve had.” And board chair Jim Hill said
Cardwell and his staff have done a good job controlling expenses.
HPUD, along
with other regional utilities, was hammered in 2009 by an abundance of
rainfall, which reduced water consumption, and a serious drop in new
construction. In all, revenues were about $1.2 million less than
projected.
Bart Kreps
from Raftelis Financial Consultants presented an overview of the
district’s rate model, developed in 2002, at a noon meeting last Monday.
Afterwards, the commissioners indicated support of Cardwell’s proposal.
About 40
percent of HPUD’s income goes toward retiring debt.
Kreps cited
three “cost drivers”: rising operating and maintenance expenses;
declining per capita consumption; and significant capital needs. He
praised financial officer James Smith’s work to obtain loans from the
State Revolving Fund and bonds from the Rural Utility Service because
both carry lower interest costs than traditional bonds.
“With the
bond market, you’re totally relying on the mood of the market,” he said.
“Long-term (30-year) bonds come with higher rates, if you can even find
buyers (willing to tie up their money for so long).”
HPUD’s
capital plan projects $25.2 million over five years for water upgrades
and $42 million for the wastewater system.