The Bermudian Springs school board made its final updates to the district’s health and safety plan aand discussed possible funding amounts for the Adams County Technical Institute during meetings on Monday and Tuesday evening.
The bulk of the discussion occurred during the caucus meeting on Monday evening, while all votes happened during the regular meeting on Tuesday evening.
As the new school year begins, business manager Justin Peart flagged important areas for the board to consider in both the cafeteria and capital reserve budgets.
Peart said that the district is spending a significantly higher amount of money on cafeteria food than it has in other recent years. From 2022-23 the cost jumped over $170,000.
With the district enrolled in the Community Eligibility Provision through USDA to receive federal reimbursement for reimbursable meals, qualifying lunches are covered for free. Bermudian Springs is entering the second year of a four-year enrollment in CEP, and with food costs escalating so rapidly, the district would have to “significantly increase” lunch prices should CEP end or the district not renew its participation, Peart warned.
While rising food prices are a significant part of the equation, Peart said that before participating in CEP, Bermudian Springs had the lowest lunch costs out of school districts in York, Adams and Franklin counties.
CEP allows all students’ lunches to be reimbursable to the district, but only if the meal contains the necessary items to qualify. Peart said that while a slice of pizza would not count as a reimbursable meal, the addition of required components – such as a fruit or vegetable – would qualify it for reimbursement. Cashiers provide a fruit or vegetable to children who do not have it on their tray, ensuring qualification but also risking higher food waste.
“What will happen is, they will go and throw it right in the trash, yes, but that’s exactly what needs to happen,” Peart said. If the fruit or vegetable were not on the student’s tray, the meal would not qualify for district reimbursement.
While the district is still early in its four-year CEP contract, Peart said escalating food prices and already-low lunch fees will necessitate raising lunch prices should the program cease.
Peart also flagged the district’s capital reserve fund for additional consideration.
In recent years, the fund contained over $1 million, but it has since dwindled. Peart anticipates that it will have nearly $484,000 by the end of the 2024-25 school year.
While at first glance that balance might seem high, the capital reserve fund is specifically designed for maintenance costs and pricey building purchases, and that money could easily “be gone in a heartbeat,” Peart said.
At some point, the high school auditorium’s aging cooling and heating unit will need replaced. While it was recently repaired, Peart said that when it finally dies, the current replacement price is $80,000.
Currently, the district has already had to budget for replacing the arsenic removal media in the drinking water plant later this year ($42,000) and buying a new commercial-grade mower ($25,000), as well as a $10,000 technology line item created for emergencies.
While the 2024-25 budget was only finalized in June, Peart and building administration already have their eye on the needs for the 2025-26 budget, which Peart will begin presenting to the board in January 2025. Until then, Peart asked that the board keep the need to replenish the capital reserve fund in mind.
With the district committing an as-yet unknown figure for upcoming ACTI school funding, the board discussed how to handle the money it will gain from the district’s tax increase this year.
In June, the board voted to approve a 3.6% tax increase. At the time, board member Ruth Griffie approved of the increase, but wanted the equivalent of a 2% increase set aside for ACTI.
During Monday’s caucus meeting, Griffie reiterated her plan.
Peart cautioned that once the funds are moved to the capital reserve fund and earmarked for ACTI, the money cannot be moved back to the general fund, so the board needs to be sure of the amount transferred before committing the funds.
Should the board move half of the funds generated by the 3.6% tax increase, a total of $252,137 would be shifted to the capital reserve fund for ACTI.
Whatever amount Bermudian Springs pays for ACTI debt service will be an annual commitment for 20 years.
Currently, Peart said the estimate is that Bermudian Springs will be asked to pay $250,000 per year, but said nothing has been set in stone.
Board member Jennifer Goldhahn suggested setting aside the $252,137 – equivalent to a 1.8% tax increase – concerned that Griffie’s suggestion of the funding from a 2% increase would leave the district short for other needs. Goldhahn suggested setting aside half of the tax increase revenue for ACTI and the other half for operational costs.
Board member Matthew Nelson suggested that the board wait for a presentation from ACTI with more details in September or October before moving any money to the capital reserve fund, allowing the board to hear an updated request from ACTI in case the amount has changed from the previously estimated $250,000.
The board agreed to wait until after the upcoming presentation before transferring the funds.
The general fund revenue and expenses for this year have been “very standard” so far, according to Peart, and there have been no major backlogs when ordering supplies for the new school year.
Tax revenue has been coming in on schedule.
“I’d like to just commend the tax collectors for getting the taxes in for us because that’s the larger revenue source for us until the state funding kicks in, so thank you very much, tax collectors,” Peart said.
Health and safety plan
The district’s health and safety plan was created to fulfill a requirement for the district to receive federal ESSER funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the deadline for the ESSER fund program expiring in September, and all Bermudian Springs ESSER money already spent, any updates to the health and safety plan are now largely procedural as they will last for only a little over a month. After September, the legal requirement for the plan’s existence will have expired.
When it accepted the ESSER funds, the district agreed to review and approve the health and safety plan every six months, but as of Monday evening, the district was overdue since it last reviewed Bermudian Spring’s plan in February 2023.
Acting Superintendent Shannon Myers said the board should have already reviewed and approved the Bermudian Springs plan twice since it was last reviewed.
Myers is taking the place of Superintendent Shane Hotchkiss, who is on extended leave before retiring in October.
During the caucus meeting on Monday, Goldhahn suggested making multiple changes to the plan. The updates state that the district will “consider updated federal and state guidance/mandates” and ensure masking is optional for everyone.
Among other changes, the changes also remove a line that states: “Staff will receive updates/reminders regarding healthy hygiene practices in order to instruct students in proper practices.”
Myers said the district requests certain consideration from staff, faculty and students.
“Our communication is to follow the same guidance, even to staff,” Myers said. “They’re following the same guidance that they would follow for any other illness: 24 hours fever-free, monitor your symptoms, and return when you feel like you’re ready.”
The board approved the revised health and safety plan during its regular meeting on Tuesday evening.
The health and safety plan will cease to be in effect after Sept. 30.
Safety proposal
Myers, along with Jesse Sims, the district’s school security office, told the board about an opportunity to sign up for a service that may benefit the district in the event of an emergency.
Sims attended the state school resource officer convention and Myers was able to go for part of the event. During that time, they learned about Critical Response Group, a company that carefully logs district property on a map and inserts a “Battleship” grid over it to enhance clarity and communication.
Rather than simply relying on previous building plans and marking updates, the company utilizes engineering software to ensure those building plans are correct. If modifications have been made, they are noted, Sims said, saying that rooms may have been enlarged or other changes made over the years.
The company sends the map data to Raptor, an emergency management system the district uses, as well as the county 911 center. In the event of an emergency, the detailed, up-to-date plans would be standardized and available to all district personnel and emergency responders with the goal of avoiding potential confusion. Assigning areas to spaces on a grid enhances clarity.
Myers said that given the district’s location, emergency response “takes a little longer,” adding that this mapping system may help eliminate the potential for further delay.
The district would have the option to pay a one-time cost or annual fees depending on whether it wants ongoing, regular map updates. Myers recommended opting for a 3-5 year contract should the district proceed.
Myers agreed to communicate with the company to schedule a presentation from it to the board.
The board held an executive session prior to Monday’s caucus meeting in order to discuss personnel and financial matters.
A caucus meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9.
The next regular board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10.
Both meetings will be held in the administration office board room. Meetings are also typically livestreamed on the district’s YouTube channel.
Imari Scarbrough is a freelance journalist. She was a staff newspaper reporter for five years before becoming a freelancer in 2017. She has written on crime, environmental issues, severe weather events, local and regional government and more.
You can visit her website at ImariJournal.com.