St. Ignace School District in Good Financial Shape, Board Learns
Cutbacks Would Change Outlook
By Paul Gingras

A revised budget for the 2006/2007 school year was discussed by the St. Ignace Area Schools Board of Education at its Monday, May 14, meeting, in preparation for adoption in June. Business Manager Kathy McLeod said the district is in good financial shape and will be able to increase its general fund balance and its athletic fund balance, unless the state cuts $125 from the student foundation allowance.

At the meeting, the board also hired an aide to help students en route to classes at Rudyard Area Schools and declared Gregg Fettig its employee of the year.

The budget presented at the meeting will be able to add approximately $160,000 to the general fund balance, which is projected to be $545,676.

The school received approximately $195,000 more in revenue than expected this year. Most of the money came from areas such as accrued interest on borrowed money that the district holds in savings accounts, money provided by the federal government for children living on federal land that is not taxed, and federal funds provided to the school for logging on federal land, the last two being payment in lieu of taxes.

In other areas, the district spent approximately $35,000 more than expected, mainly on severance pay for teachers and attorney fees, she added.

All told, the school should be able to increase its general fund balance from approximately $385,000 to $545,000, Mrs. McLeod said.

Food service expenditures and profits should almost balance, she added, leaving a reserve fund of $45,000. This year, the school made approximately $290,000 in the food service area, and may spend $298,000 by the end of the year. These figures may change, owing to how many lunches the school sells from now until school ends, Mrs. McLeod added.

For athletics, the school took in approximately $200,750 and spent $168,000. The additional $32,750 will be added to the school's fund balance, bringing it up to about $77,000. Last school year, the district ended with an athletic fund balance of $45,000.

This year, the district hosted several, large, home games that generated more gate receipts than expected, creating higher-than-expected revenue for the athletic fund.

Partly owing to declining enrollment, the district will not hire new staff members to replace Early Fives teacher Patricia Paquin, who resigned this year, and special education teacher Donna Hardin, who will retire at the end of the year, Superintendent Mike Springsteen said.

What the final budget will look like depends on the state, Mr. Springsteen reminded the board, but for now, the school must consider a budget to be presented at the June school board meeting.

Owing to problems among students on buses en route from St. Ignace to Rudyard Area Schools, the board hired Jennifer Savard as an aide to assist bus drivers. She will be paid $9.67 per hour for three to four hours a day, for the remainder of the school year. She may remain in the position next year, if needed, Mr. Springsteen added.

The school conducted a first reading of new discipline policies dealing with the seclusion and restraint of troubled students. The policies, recommended by the Michigan State Board of Education, are in reaction to situations in downstate school districts, where two students died while being restrained, Mr. Springsteen said.

After gathering input from districts around the state, the state board is recommending that school boards adjust their discipline polices to ensure that students are never restrained face down.

The new policy differs little from the school's existing rules, which state that students must never be restrained unless they are behaving in a way that is dangerous to themselves or others. Such situations are rare "but they do happen," Mr. Springsteen said.

The new policy also deals with seclusion, situations in which students are separated from their peers, owing to vocal or physically abusive behavior.

While seclusion has never been defined precisely in the school policy, Mr. Springsteen said, the recommended state policy says that students cannot be secluded in small spaces, that they must be under adult supervision, and that they must be located in safe places with adequate ventilation and light. The need to seclude a student is rare, Mr. Springsteen said.

The seclusion policy does not reflect the common "time out" practice in schools, in which unruly students are temporarily taken out of their seats and placed in another part of the schoolroom while they calm down, he added.

The board will vote on the new policies at its June meeting.

The board voted Gregg Fettig the district's employee of the year. Mr. Fettig teaches senior social studies and serves as the district's technology director. Among several points of praise, Mr. Fettig was honored for helping students use technology, which the board feels will help prepare them for the future workforce. He was also noted as a mentor to students, and for creating professional development activities to help other teachers excel. Mr. Fettig has been a teacher in the district since 2001.