Mold repairs left school district $8.5 million in red

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Mold repairs left school district $8.5 million in red

Wed Jul 10, 9:04 AM ET

By Waldron Daily Herald Staff Writer

Mold removal and repairs at St. East High School knocked the 2001-02

school district budget out of balance by about $8.5 million, the district's

top financial official told board members this week.

Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Dave Zager said the

mold-related costs added $8.54 million to the St. school district's

expenses, $337,150 of which covered extra transportation expenses. Those

costs were related to busing Wredling Middle School students to the

temporary classrooms on the shared Haines and middle school campus.

The remainder of the money was spent on renting the mobile classrooms used

by Wredling and East students and to pay for portions of the repairs.

Final numbers from the construction project, now in its final stages after

10 months of work, will be completed at the end of the month, Zager said.

The last figures provided in April listed the price tag at $25.4 million.

East was closed 15 months after the discovery of toxic mold. It forced the

relocation of Wredling Middle School students as well as those at East

The money to pay the mold bill is being divided between the 2001-02 budget,

left over 1998 referendum money and the district's reserves.

By adding more than $8 million in expenses to last year's budget, the

district was forced to cut its reserves by more than a third. To avoid

reducing those reserves any further and meeting the board's charge of

maintaining a balanced budget, district administrators had to come up with

cuts and new fees to keep the 2002-03 proposed budget in line.

That $86.1 million budget proposal was approved for public display Monday by

the board. It will be available for review by residents at the district

administrative office and at the St. Public Library until Aug. 26.

The proposed budget is up about 5.2 percent over the 2001-02 budget and

includes about $1 million in expenses related to the East repair work. Most

of that $1 million will cover the removal of mobile classroom units used by

Wredling students.

To keep the budget balanced, the district came up with about $1.8 million in

program, materials and personnel cuts, plus new revenues.

In three months of discussion, board members opted for cuts rather than

proceed with an unbalanced budget that would have continued to draw down

district reserves that were hit hard last year because of the East

situation.

In the area of new revenue, about $215,000 will come from increased middle

and high school athletic and extracurricular fees and doubling of the

elementary band/orchestra fee. Higher materials and book fees at all levels

will raise an additional $204,000.

On the cost-cutting side, the district will hire only nine new teachers

instead of 17, saving about $280,000.

In all, the proposed budget would reduce expenses by $1,455,000, a figure

that includes $560,600 in proposed reductions of supplies, delaying the

start of the St. Literature Festival, and cuts in funds for

professional travel and other professional development programs.

The proposed budget would keep about $44,000 for the DARE program at the

district's elementary schools.

The board is expected to adopt the budget during its Sept. 9 meeting.