Changes to the athletic pass policy and lodging reimbursement were approved by the St. Ignace Area Schools Board of Education at its Monday, March 8, meeting. Trustees also appointed Jim Mattson of St. Ignace to fill a seat left vacant by Sean Arthur and previewed the budget process for next year.

The new athletic pass policy, recommended by the board's policy committee and approved unanimously by the board Monday, outlines exactly who gets free admission to school athletic events and who is included in family and other season passes, facts that were mostly vague and unwritten up to this point. Under the new rules, a family season pass will cover a husband and wife, all children under 18 living in their home, and any other children still enrolled in high school or college, regardless of age. Names of all eligible family members will need to be submitted annually when the pass is purchased and will be listed on a roster held by ticket-takers at each event.

Senior citizen season passes will cost $50 and cover one person between the age of 55 and 64. Annual Golden Age season passes will be granted for free to anyone over the age of 64.

Board members and their spouses, but not any other family members, will be given a free season pass during their term of service. Any board members serving two or more full terms will be given a free lifetime pass.

School district employees, although not any of their family members, will get a free season pass providing they agree with the athletic director to work at least two home games.

All district coaches will receive free season passes for them and their spouses, but not their children.

Ticket prices will stay the same as they have been in the past, with season tickets at $200 for a family, $100 for an adult, and $80 for a student. Individual high school sporting event tickets cost $5 for an adult and $4 for a student. Junior high tickets cost $4 for an adult and $3 for a student, and families of any size can get in the door of any sporting event for $15.

All season passes will be issued annually and can be purchased at the high school office, with the exception of free passes like Golden Age, board member, employee, and coach passes, which are issued at the district's central office.

Any already-issued lifetime passes will be honored if presented at the door, and ticket rates apply to people who live within any school district, not just St. Ignace.

Trustees unanimously approved an amendment to the staff and board reimbursement policy for travel and attending conferences. The amendment states that, for general travel, the reimbursement rate will be set at the state's standard per diem rate, but that for conference attendance, lodging reimbursement will be set at the hotel's conference rate for that particular conference.

Board Hears Gloomy Report

on Upcoming Budget

District Business Manager Kathy McLeod reported that anticipated cuts to the state's foundation allowance would make for a huge challenge for the board's upcoming 2010-2011 budget process, since preliminary numbers indicate a deficit of between $600,000 and $800,000. This deficit is estimated by assuming a $268 per student decrease to aid from the state, a number that won't be known exactly until Michigan's legislature passes its budget in mid-to-late 2010. It also assumes a decrease of 30 students, which affects how much state funding schools receive, based on a trend over the past several years of about 30 fewer students each year.

The current year budget looks much better, Mrs. McLeod said, since it appears the district will end its year with a $125,000 deficit, much less than the $285,000 deficit assumed when the board approved its budget in June 2009.

The school's current fund balance is $611,190, and will be decreased by whatever the deficit is at the end of the year. Before a budget is approved in the summer, board members will need to examine what can be done to absorb the large anticipated loss of revenue, since the remaining fund balance will only cover a little less than $500,000 of deficit being planned for.

Jim Mattson Appointed

to Vacant Seat

Jim Mattson joined the school board for its Monday night meeting after being unanimously voted in to temporarily fill the seat left vacant by Sean Arthur, who resigned in February.

Mr. Mattson took his oath of office Monday and will officially serve on the board until the seat is up for election in May 2011.