The Press-Dispatch
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A-8 Local Wednesday, September 20, 2017 The Press-Dispatch Otwell Miller Academy deals with budget issues By Ed Cahill A budget approved by the Otwell Miller Academy school board during its regular monthly meeting on Mon- day, Sept. 11 projects that the char- ter school will suffer a net operating loss of more than $250,000 during its first year. According to the budget, Otwell Miller Academy is projected to re- ceive revenue totaling $537,847, while expenditures are anticipated to total $788,164, resulting in a net operating loss of $250,317. According to a footnote on the first- year budget, the "operational def- icit" is expected to be covered by a "( Year One) loan carryover" amount of $ 306,000. That amount is listed as an "over- age" that is expected to be contributed by Friends of Otwell Elementary, Ltd., which reportedly are the proceeds left over from $159,000 in local donations and two loans totaling $ 900,000 – in- cluding a $400,000 loan from Old Na- tional Bank – minus $753,000 in to- tal expenses. "It looks fine as long as we get our money support from the Friends of Otwell," said Michelle Durcholz, who chairs the school board's finance sub- committee. "But I know that that's not going to be happening very easily ... because Friends of Otwell's still try- ing to pay for this building right now." "What kind of support do you need from the Friends of Otwell? " asked Mike Houtsch, who chairs the school board's building and operations sub- committee and – along with Dur- cholz, his daughter – is a member of the Friends of Otwell Elementary's Board of Directors. "I thought OMA was paying the Friends of Otwell? " (According to the first-year bud- get, Otwell Miller Academy will pay a monthly rent amount of $4,700 – to- taling $51,700 for the year – to the Friends of Otwell Elementary, Ltd.) "This amount up here ... that's from the Friends," Durcholz replied. "Ev- erything that's included in there, in my opinion, has to be there. We just have to be very cautious, because we're going to be tight for quite some time." "We may have to, when it comes down to it, decide what can be paid at the time and what needs to hold off for a little while, depending on how the funding comes in and everything," Durcholz added. "We just have to be careful. But we knew that we were go- ing to be really tight, at least the first year, depending on enrollment. That's the big reason that we're as tight as we are, because we don't have quite the students we were expecting ... not yet, anyway." Otwell Miller Academy's first-year budget is based on an enrollment of 63 students in grades K-5. On Friday, Sept. 15, however, Otwell Miller Acad- emy – which originally submitted an anticipated enrollment of 120 students – turned in an average daily member- ship (ADM) count of 57 students to the Indiana Department of Education. According to the budget, Otwell Miller Academy is anticipating that it will receive $ 6,679 in basic tuition support from the state per student. Based on that projection, OMA would receive a total of $420,779 in basic tu- ition support. The budget breaks down the $ 6,679 in basic tuition support per student in- to a basic foundation amount of $5,865 per student and a complexity grant amount of $ 814 per student. However, according to IDOE press secretary Adam Baker, the total amount of the basic tuition support per student is $5,865.07 – which is broken down into a basic foundation amount of $5,273 per student and a complexity grant amount of $592.07 per student. "We cannot verify the $ 814 figure," Baker wrote in an email response dat- ed Wednesday, Sept. 13. Based on a basic tuition support amount of $5,865.07 per student, Ot- well Miller Academy would receive a total of $ 334,308.99 – or $ 86,471.01 less than the $420,779 in basic tuition support included in the first-year bud- get which was approved by the OMA school board. Added to the operating loss of $250,317 already anticipated by the first-year budget, OMA's projected operating loss for the first year could exceed $ 336,000. "We are aware of Otwell Miller Academy's financial status," wrote Amanda Banks, director of public re- lations for Grace College, in an email dated Tuesday, Sept. 19. "The Otwell Miller Academy board has the prima- ry responsibility for drafting, approv- ing and implementing the budget. As the authorizer, Grace Schools directs Otwell to adhere to all state law, poli- cies and best practices concerning its budget and overall operation." "As with any new start-up venture, the budget process is refined as spe- cific information becomes available (i.e., number of enrolled students). Due to the complexity of the finan- cial formula, (e.g., Special Educa- tion, Free and Reduced Lunch, Free Lunch) determining a baseline for al- location of funds in the first year of a school's operation is challenging. It is common for first-year schools to make significant adjustments to their bud- get due to this fact." Obituaries BRENDA K AY MCDANIEL Brenda Kay (Moore) Mc- Daniel, 65, of Princeton, was called to eternal rest on Sep- tember 17, 2017. She was born November 5, 1951, to the late Arthur Eugene and Alma Charlene (Coburn) Moore. She was the Dietary Man- ager at River Oaks Health Campus and a beautician of 25 years. She enjoyed explor- ing the world of genealogy, drinking her coffee and so- cializing with her neighbors. Left to cherish her mem- ories are her son, Jeremy (Teena Bartlett) McDaniel, of Evansville; her daughter, Kara McDaniel, of Prince- ton; a grandson, Aaron Mc- Daniel, of Princeton; and a host of nieces, nephews, ex- tended families and friends. She has now joined her husband, John McDaniel; her six brothers, Owen, Del- bert, William, Donald, Ron- ald and Jackie Moore; and her sister, Diana Dougan. A graveside celebration of life will be at 3 p.m. Thurs- day, September 21, 2017, at Columbia White Church Cemetery in Princeton. Burial will follow. Visitation will be from noon until 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Colvin Fu- neral Home in Princeton. Memorial contributions may be made to American Cancer Society, 5250 Vogel Road, Evansville, IN 47715 or at www.cancer.org. Enve- lopes will also be available at Colvin's. You may leave a message of sympathy or light a memorial candle at www.colvinfuneralhome. com. D. MA XINE ROTHROCK D. Maxine Rothrock, 87, of Oakland City, passed away Sunday, September 17, 2017, at her home. She was born January 10, 1930, in Princeton, to Eras- tus J. and Fannie M. (Mc- Donald) Selby. She was a school bus driv- er for East Gibson School and Pike-Gibson Co-op for 12 years, and then also worked as an EMT for Gib- son County Ambulance Ser- vice. She enjoyed crochet- ing, gardening and loved canning vegetables. She is survived by her son, Dan (Patricia) Ro- throck, of Winslow; daugh- ters, Linda (Pete) Parker, of Winslow, Sherry (Dave) Moody, of Oakland City, Melissa (Rusty) McDon- ald, of Winslow; six grand- children, Maia Rothrock, Rachel Bolin, Alan Strick- land, Joseph and Benjamin Strickland and Amanda Mc- Donald; six great-grandchil- dren, Jacob and Sarah Bo- lin, Alexis Strickland, Syd- ney Strickland, Ella Strick- land and Lillian Strickland; several step-grandchildren and step-great-grandchil- dren; and a brother, Albert (Mary Lou) Selby, of Ow- ensville. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of 61 years, Hubert "Dan" Rothrock; granddaughter, Kelsie McDonald; and sis- ter, Olive Hurt. Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. (CDT) on Thurs- day, September 21, 2017, at Corn-Colvin Funeral Home in Oakland City, with Rev. Larry Hurt officiating. Buri- al will follow at Williams Cemetery in Pike County. Visitation will be from 4 until 8 p.m. (CDT) on Wednesday at the funeral home. You may leave a message of sympathy or light a me- morial candle at www.corn- colvinfuneralhome.com. JOHN ELDEN VINSON John Elden Vinson, 82, of rural Hazleton, passed away Monday, September 18, 2017, at Amber Manor Care Center in Petersburg. He was born April 12, 1935, in Pike County, to the late Thomas Arthur and Sar- ah Ann (Tooley) Vinson. He graduated from Pur- due University in 1957 with a degree in Aeronautical En- gineering and then worked for Bendix Industries in Hamilton, Ohio. He then re- turned to the Hazleton area in 1959 and became involved in farming with Vinson and Phillips Farms. He was a member of Hazleton United Methodist Church. He is survived by his wife, Mary Ellen (Phillips) Vin- son, to whom he was mar- ried on August 8, 1953, at the former Salem Method- ist Church; two sons and daughters-in-law, Cliff L. and Tracy Renee (Higdon) Vinson, of rural Hazleton, and Phillip K. and Jane Ce- cilia (Goedde) Vinson, of Fairfield, Ohio; grandchil- dren, Gretchen Lynn ( Jeff ) Chenault), Brittney Marie (Brad) Fryrear, Jared Lee (Brianna) Vinson, Heather Colvin, Sara Michelle, Greg- ory Alan, Eric Michael and Scott Alexander Vinson; great-grandchildren, Bren- ton and Brayden Fryrear, and Avery and Finnick Vin- son. He was preceded in death by his parents; sister and brothers, Hester Felton, Arthur, Burl Raymond and Thomas Vinson. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. CDT Saturday, Sep- tember 23, 2017, at Colvin Funeral Home in Princeton, with Pastor Sam Polito offi- ciating. Burial will follow at Davidson Cemetery near Gi- ro. Visitation will be from 4 until 8 p.m. CDT Friday at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to Davidson Cemetery, c/o Janie David- son, 9477 W. CR 350 N., Ha- zleton, IN 47640. Envelopes will also be available at Col- vin's. You may leave a mes- sage of sympathy or light a memorial candle at www. colvinfuneralhome.com. See more obituaries on page D-9 PEDAL TRACTOR PULL AT INDIANA STATE FAIR Above: Parker Goeppner, 8, a second grader at Winslow Elementary, participat- ed in the 7-8 year olds on Saturday and placed fifth. Right: Corey Goeppner, 12-year-old son of Jason and Beth Goeppner, of Stendal, participated in the pedal tractor pull at the Indiana State Fair August 19 and 20. Co- rey placed first in the 11-12 age group on Saturday and qualified for the Champion of Champions pull on Sunday and placed third.