The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/259021
2501 Newton St (HWY 231 N) Jasper, IN 47546 www.obcycle.com 866-yamaha-6 Obermeyer H O N D A - YA M A H A - S U Z U K I 2501 Newton St (HWY 231 N) Jasper, IN 47546 www.obcycle.com 866-yamaha-6 Great SelectiOn! Great SelectiOn! 1040 Form U.S. Individual Income Tax Return Celebrating 20 Years of Service THACKER TAX SERVICE 704 E. Haub Street Haubstadt, IN 47639 (99) IRS Use Only—Do not write or staple in this space. Office: 812-615-0071 Cell: 812-789-3852 By Appointment Member of National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP) By Ed Cahill Pike County students won't have to make up two days that were missed be- cause of snow in January, Superintendent of Schools Suzanne Blake announced during Monday night's meeting of the Pike County School Corporation's Board of School Trustees. "We did receive approval from the state that we got the waiver for Jan. 6 and 7, which was pretty much an automatic process as long as you filed the documen- tation," Blake said. "So the absences that we had on Jan. 6 and Jan. 7 have been cleared from the state." Blake noted that, in the request she sent to the state, she had asked for waivers for all eight days that the school corporation had missed at the time it was submitted. "And we know that we've missed additional days since that time," Blake said. The state's response, ac- cording to Blake, was that school corporations would be contacted individually regarding requests for waiv- ers of any additional missed days. "I have not heard," Blake said. "I don't know where it's going. The newest post- ing from the state came out Friday with regard to op- tional provisions for making up missed days, by either extending the school day or setting up virtual learn- ing opportunities. I've al- ready sent back to the state some questions, because we know we already go longer than the minimum by the state. So I'm trying to fig- ure out exactly where we stand with the hours and what our options are, and go from there. "All I can say is that I'm not real happy with that groundhog right now," Blake added. "Because I'm done with winter." In other business, Blake reviewed the 2014 budget order issued last month by the Indiana Department of Local Government and Fi- nance, noting that the total budget approved by DLGF is $17,157,996. "This was less than our 2013 amount that had been approved by a total of $ 3,071,487," Blake said. "Keep in mind that the num- bers that we get from the DLGF are appropriations; it is not necessarily actual cash. By being appropria- tions, it means this is what we're authorized to spend." Blake said that the school district was "on target" to receive $11,980,084 in Ba- sic Grant funds, which go into the school corpora- tion's General Fund. "But we've only got authorization to spend $10,524,676," Blake said. "Going forward, if we need additional authorization to spend money out of any of those accounts, we have to request permission from DLGF. So if there's addition- al revenue that comes in ... then we need to document that and submit it to DLGF for approval." Blake noted that the school corporation was al- lowed to move 10 percent of its budget into the Rainy Day fund, which it had done each of the past two years. "For 2013, that allowed us to move just over $2 mil- lion," Blake said. "For 2014, we will only be able to move $1.7 million." Blake reminded the school board that the Rainy Day fund has been used to supplement expenses that normally would be charged to the General Fund. "We know that if we have less revenue, which is your money coming in, and we have a higher rate of ex- penses, then we enter into deficit," Blake said. "That's just like your home check- ing book. You can't go over. You can't spend more than what you bring in. So we need to either look at ways to increase revenue or look at ways to decrease expens- es." Blake also provided the school board with an up- date on the fund balances as of Jan. 31, 2014: • General Fund: – $109,416. • Debt Service Fund: $173,235. • Capital Projects Fund: $ 899,701. • Transportation Oper- ating Fund: $ 835,364. • Bus Replacement Fund: $202,744. In other action, the school board approved fu- el escalation costs for Feb- ruary in the amounts of $4,447.20 for the contractor and $1,373.40 for the school corporation drivers for a to- tal of $5,820.60. The school board also voted to accept a donation of $500 from the Spurgeon General Baptist Church to the Pike Central High School Swing Choir. The school board ap- proved a resolution regard- ing responsibility for the Af- fordable Health Care Act. "This was at the advice of various attorneys in the state with regard to the Af- fordable Health Care Act," Blake said. "It says, 'We, the school board trustees for the Pike County School Corporation, put the bur- den for the fees, fines and penalties for the Afford- able Health Care Act on the school corporation. We do not hold the school corpora- tion treasurer personally re- sponsible for the fees, fines or penalties'." In addition, the school board approved a resolu- tion to transfer $1,700,000 from the General Fund to the Transportation Oper- ating Fund and $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the Capital Projects Fund. "The reason I am request- ing this is I think it may help us maintain a more accu- rate picture of where our balances are, and as long as we have the balances back in the positive by the end of our fiscal year, we will be alright with the auditors," Blake said. "What will our balance be in the General Fund af- ter this transfer? " school board member Dave Waltz asked. "We currently have $109,416.22 in the nega- tive," Blake replied. "So it will take it down another $2.7 million." The school board also ap- proved field trip requests from Shirley Segert for the FCCL A Club to attend a state conference March 6 -8, from Kevin Carter for welding students to attend the state welding competi- tion March 14-15, and from Dana Deffendoll for the BPA students to attend a state leadership conference March 16 -18. "All three conferences are in Indianapolis; all three involve overnight stays with students," Blake said. "Therefore I request your approval of those trips." The school board ap- proved a request by Trac- tors for Trenton's Amber Leighty to use the Pike Cen- tral High School swimming pool for swimming lessons. "They've done this for the past couple of years," Blake said. "It's been a very suc- cessful program. The cost to the children covers the insurance and the instruc- tors who assist with this are volunteers. In the request, Amber noted that, through the time they've done this the past two years, they've provided water skills and safety instruction to over 250 students." The school board also approved a request from Pike Central High School mass media advisor Beth Bohnert for two student- initiated projects. One would involve a "re- do" of the middle school cafeteria and, in particular, the area around the athlet- ic concession stand. "They want to go ahead and carry out the current theme of the Charger Cafe, but they would like to re- paint, re-do the area around the concession stand," Blake said. The second project, coor- dinated by junior Lindsey Catt, is the creation of a but- terfly garden in the memo- ry of Sarah Johnson, a Pike Central High School stu- dent who recently passed away. "Mrs. Nalley's class will help with the design as well as the upkeep of that," Blake said. "Both projects ... will be implemented and maintained with donations from the community or grant funds." Blake informed the school board that Pike Cen- tral High School teacher Roger Stuckey had submit- ted a letter announcing his retirement. "He's worked with us for 26 years," Blake said. "The effective date would be June 1, 2014, but he would like to implement the use of his sick days. Once he leaves on spring break, he will not be back. He would like to fulfill his responsibilities as the senior class sponsor, how- ever, through graduation." In another personnel matter, the school board ap- proved a recommendation by Blake that the school cor- poration dismiss Tina Creel as a cafeteria employee. During the superinten- dent's comments portion of the agenda, Blake said she wanted to commend one of the school district's bus drivers. "We received a call some- where after one of these weather days, a family prais- ing their bus driver, felt like she went above and beyond to make sure their road was safe," Blake said. "I think all of our bus drivers are won- derful, so I'm not trying to slight anybody by this, but this family did call in and I wanted to commend Nan- cy Sullivan for her efforts, and I would like to public- ly recognize her and thank her for that." In addition, Blake noted that the school corporation had a situation that neces- sitated additional help by members of the custodial staff. "I would like to thank Sherman Tegmeyer and Missy Durst for helping with some extra clean-up and things that we need- ed," Blake said. "I appreci- ate it. It was during a snow day and they did come in and help and they didn't have to and I appreciate it very much." Angie Baker, president of the Pike County Teach- ers Association, recognized the certified and non-certi- fied employees who were in attendance during Monday night's board meeting, with special recognition to Win- slow Elementary School. "They've got the best showing tonight," Baker said. The school board also approved the following per- sonnel transactions: Resignation: Erin Fish, Custodian. Pike Central Middle School Extracurricular and Athletics: Nick Powers, as- sistant baseball coach; Cody Kendle, volunteer as- sistant wrestling coach. Pike Central High School Extracurricular and Athlet- ics: Brandon Hartkey, assis- tant boys' golf coach; Rach- elle Johns, varsity assistant girls' softball coach; Er- ic Knight and Nathan Mc- Cord, assistant track coach- es; Linc Oxley, assistant baseball coach. OES bike winner Austin baker, a fourth grade student in brandi Kabrick's class, is the new owner of a brand new bike donated by timeless Classics of Petersburg. Aus- tin's name was drawn out for having perfect attendance. Otwell Elementary science team places in top 10 in state the otwell elementary science team competed in the 2014 competition and scored in the top 10 for the state. Pictured are fifth grade students (l to r): hunter Capehart, Connor young, Colton White and Maddie Williams. the team was coached by terra Knust. Pike County schools get two days waived, make-up options discussed 260 W. Main St., Petersburg (Next to Petersburg Vet Clinic) 812-354-3331 We accept most insurances! DR. RAMSEY'S VISION CENTER fAShION f r a M e S One Year WarrantY On Frames! evening and saturday appointments available. See our large selection of Vectren Energy Deliv- ery of Indiana ( Vectren) will match dollar-for-dol- lar all public donations to its Share the Warmth Inc. program this winter, up to a total of $200,000. Share the Warmth, a 501(c)3 non- profit organization, annual- ly allocates funds to Indiana Community Action Agen- cies who administer the In- diana's Weatherization As- sistance Program. This weatherization ini- tiative is designed to offer comprehensive long-term energy conservation bene- fits to single family home- owners that meet the state and federal guidelines for low-income. Through gen- erous donations, Share the Warmth has weatherized more than 235 homes since 2007, making homes more comfortable and utility bills more manageable for those in need. "Many low-income fam- ilies are faced with higher than average energy bills because they often reside in older, inefficient homes with out-dated furnaces and inadequate insulation," said Jeff Whiteside, Vectren's vice president of communi- ty sustainability and presi- dent of the Vectren Founda- tion. "If fully utilized, this program could yield an ad- ditional $400,000 to weath- erize even more households in need." Tax-deductible dona- tions can be made to Share the Warmth Inc., P.O. Box 931, Evansville, IN 47706 - 0931. More information and a contribution form are available at http://www. sharethewarmthinc.com. Indiana electric customers can also donate by signing up for a free Energizing Indi- ana home energy audit and choosing Share the Warmth to be the recipient of a $25 donation after the energy au- dit is complete. Vectren Energy Delivery ( Vectren) customers paying their bills online, also have the opportunity to round the payment up to the near- est dollar, donating the addi- tional amount to Share the Warmth. Customers choosing this option will see two separate deductions on their bank statement—one for their utility payment and one for Share the Warmth. By en- tering a valid e-mail address during the payment process, the customer will receive an e-mail detailing the dona- tion for tax purposes. Those who qualify for the low-income weatherization program will receive a free, on-site home energy audit to determine areas in need of energy-efficiency upgrades. Energy efficiency experts from the local Communi- ty Action Agency will then implement a number of ef- ficiency measures on an as- needed basis, which may include: adding insulation in the walls or attic, seal- ing ductwork and air leaks and installing high-efficien- cy natural gas furnaces and/ or water heaters. Customers needing bill payment assistance or who are interested in the weath- erization program may find the Community Action Agency nearest them by calling the Indiana Hous- ing and Community Devel- opment Authority at 1-800 - 872-0371. Recipients of pro- gram dollars must be at or below 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines for most programs. Vectren's Share the Warmth Program runs year- round. Donations are tax- deductible to the extent al- lowed by law. Vectren offers $200,000 in matching funds to support home weatherization programs A-6 Wednesday, February 12, 2014 The Press-Dispatch