The District 55 School Board chose not to combine funds raised by the district’s Transportation Department through repair and maintenance services for vehicles belonging to other districts, agencies and organizations with its general fund, leaving those funds more easily accessible to Transportation Department.
The board voted 4-3 during its regular meeting on June 8 to transfer some $21,000 in the transportation enterprise fund to the district’s general fund, but five votes from the nine-member board were required by policy and law for the motion to pass, according to School Board Chairman Mike Reynolds.
Voting yes were Reynolds, Diane Gerson, Chanz Keeney and Leena Neuschwander. Voting no were John Fassler, Jason Redick and Dale Keene. David VanDerlip was absent.
The board’s ninth seat is vacant until July when Jenny Daniels takes the Liberty position. Jeff Lynn resigned in May after moving outside of the Liberty area. A proposal to eliminate the transportation enterprise fund was later stripped from a budget resolution the same night.
Fassler, Redick and Keene opposed the decision primarily because it encouraged the district’s transportation mechanics to raise funds for the district at a time when funding is tight.
The program has been in place for about a decade, Transportation Supt. L.D. Ellison said. The funds are used to purchase equipment, such as a lift for the shop, equipment that may not have been budgeted.
The Transportation Depart-ment charges $65 per hour, with a markup on parts, Ellison said. The district’s costs in labor and parts are reimbursed, and any leftover profits are placed into the transportation enterprise fund. The district’s costs are reimbursed by the job.
At times, the mechanics may have as many as four buses that need work, Ellison said, while at other times, they may be waiting for something to break or doing oil changes, which are the times they can work on projects from outside the district.
Redick said he appreciated seeing those employees trying to improve the district, a comment echoed by other board members, including Keeney.
Every area of the district had to make cuts this year, Keeney said, and everybody is struggling.
“We’re doing without teachers,” he said. “We’re doing without maintenance.”
He didn’t see transferring the money to the general fund as a big deal, he said. Any profits made by the program can be set aside for transportation needs, and the department staff can follow the same process as others who want to spend general fund money.
In the end, Business Manager Kevin Strong told the board, he would hope the department would continue to seek out such opportunities to raise revenues, while recognizing that at the end of the day, it’s still Sweet Home School District on the check.
Ellison warned against moving the money and closing the fund.
“You’ll take that incentive and spark away,” he said. “It benefits the district and the department.”
It’s also what keeps the transportation staff employed, Keeney said, and ensures they have work to do during the hours when the district’s work is lighter.
The program is generating enough work to keep those employees busy during the 40-hour week, Horton said. If they didn’t handle the extra buses, they wouldn’t have the work to require a 40-hour week.
Other departments are hurting too, and they don’t have a way to generate income, Horton said.
He suggested putting the money into the general fund and closing the enterprise fund this year and next, re-evaluating it and considering putting it back in a couple of years.
If it’s in the general fund, the money could be used for a new Suburban or new toilets, Horton said. “It’s going to be weighed like everything else.”
“I think I’d rather encourage the innovation rather than discouraging it,” Redick said.
“I encourage the ingenuity and brainstorming, but the whole is hurting,” Neuschwander said.