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Miller Grove school board member Clark May (second from left) enjoys Thanksgiving luncheon with his family, daughters Addison, Brooklyn and Emma, sister Amanda and her daughters, Demi and Kalea, and mother Karen. Staff photo by Taylor Nye
Track project over cost but within budget, board says
Miller Grove
MILLER GROVE — A review of finances and bond sale not only let the Miller Grove ISD school board know they were “in the black,” according to auditor Kris Arnold, the school is also the recent recipient of a $125,000 grant for technology in the classroom.
Opening the meeting at 6 p.m., the board opened the floor to public comments. None were offered. The board then voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the Oct. 21 meeting as well as pay school bills. There was no journal voucher at present time, although Superintendent Steve Johnson stated the item will remain open in case a journal voucher is incoming for the remainder of the month.
The board then unanimously approved the sale and transfer of school bonds. John Blackburn of LiveOak Public Finance attended to inform the board about the sale and transfer of both 2011 and 2019 bonds, which he told the group had been a “great sale.”
The 2011 bond will reach maturity in on Feb. 15, 2020, Blackburn said. In the case of the spring 2019 bond, while the board had intended to hold an 18-year payback period, Blackburn notified the board they were able to get a “good deal” on a 17-year period at 2.6% interest on average.
Board member Brett Garrett inquired how much money the bond sale would save the district, and Blackburn informed the board they would net approximately $84,500 in interest savings. The 2019 bond will be paid off in 2036, Blackburn said.
Auditor Kris Arnold then presented the school’s annual audit. Arnold stated the school had $1.39 million in savings in the capital projects fund. Johnson noted the school plans to spend all of that money updating facilities and has so far spent approximately $300,000.
Arnold noted that the school had $4.2 million in revenues with $4.1 million in expenditures and will have approximately $2.6 million in their general fund at the end of the fiscal year. The board unanimously approved the audit.
Miller Grove ISD is one of the entities able to nominate candidates to the Hopkins County Appraisal District as well as the Rains County Appraisal District. Miller Grove ISD enters three votes out of a total of more than 5,000 votes. Board members unanimously voted to cast their one Hopkins County vote in favor of Barbara Stewart but were undecided when it came to their two Rains County votes.
Board member Ray Sparks asked if they could write in Rains County resident Ernie Weaver, and Johnson recited state law stating write-ins were not accepted.
“I don’t like to vote for them if I don’t know them,” Sparks noted, and the other board members agreed.
The board voted unanimously to abstain from casting Rains County votes at present time.
Johnson then provided the superintendent’s report, which noted they are requesting proposals for E-Rate systems for technology updates due Jan. 10, 2020. Johnson then provided updates on the track, stating that although there were small additional costs for lighting timers as well as drilling and coring rock, the track currently remains within budget around $1.2 million.
Johnson reported that Athletic Director Gary Billingsley told him the track will need to be repainted every 7-10 years due to wear, and that cost could run as high as $100,000. Garrett inquired how that money was intended to be raised, and Johnson stated they would budget for it a little bit every year. Johnson also said the school hoped to raise money through fees and concessions from hosting track events at the facilities.
Johnson reported he had enquired with UIL, and schools are now allowed to buy state title winners commemorative class rings. Johnson said he thought it would be nice for members of the cross country team, who recently took first at UIL state. Garrett stated he thought it would be a good idea, and he believed the school should allocate money for a basic ring, and “if kids want all the extras, they can pay for it.”
The board resolved to look into the costs and put it on the agenda for December.
The last item discussed was unscheduled, as elementary school Principal Jaime Fox stated she had breaking news: The school had just been awarded a $125,000 Blended Learning grant. Miller Grove ISD is one of only 10 schools in the state to receive the grant, which helps to integrate technology in the classroom and maximize the capabilities of technologies already purchased, Fox said. The school is additionally eligible to receive $100,000 more in funding to help deploy the grant.
With no further business, the board adjourned at 7:47 p.m.