February 13, 2015
Cincinnatus BOE addresses asbestos removal
CINCINNATUS — The board of education Thursday discussed spending about $74,000 from a reserve account to fund an emergency removal of potentially asbestos-containing insulation from the district’s single schoolbuilding.
It took no action on the move, instead setting a public hearing on the fund transfer for March 12.
As the district faces a projected budget gap of over $500,000, Superintendent of Schools Steve Hubbard told the board members they would have to decide whether to use money from other reserve accounts to help balance the budget.
The district is seeking to remove vermiculite insulation found in thedistrict’s large gym and other areas of the building, including twoclassrooms and the stage area of the auditorium.
Vermiculite insulation may contain asbestos as the Montana mine where most of the mineral vermiculite was extracted before 1990 had a natural deposit of asbestos, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The asbestos deposit contaminated the vermiculite and asbestos made its way into insulation created from the mineral, according to the agency.
If inhaled, asbestos fibers can become embedded in a person’s lungs andover time can result in lung cancer and other lung diseases, according to the EPA.
A public hearing is scheduled to be held at the board’s March 12 meeting for the board to discuss and possiblyapprove a transfer of funds from a reserve account to pay for the work. It would be used to pay contractors toremove the insulation, test air quality and prepare and submit documents to the state Education Department, Hubbard said.
As the project is an emergency, the state should reimburse the district for project expenses of approximately $75,000, he said.
The board of education must also discuss taking additional funds from other reserve accounts to help offset a $541,857 budget gap for the 2015-16 school year, Hubbard said. The transfer of funds from reserves to balance the budget do not require a public hearing.
At most the district could raise $73,057 more in taxes in 2015-16 as the state-mandated limit for a tax levy increase for the district is 2.04 percent, Troy Bilodeau, the district’s business manager, told the board.
The draft budget does not include an increase in state aid funding under the Gap Elimination Adjustment, or state aid allocated per pupil, Bilodeau said. The Gap Elimination Adjustment was passed in 2010 as a way for the state to balance its budget deficit by withholding some state aid from each school district.
Since the GEA was enacted, it is estimated Cincinnatus lost out on$2.6 million in state aid, according to board President Margaret Peri.
“With a projected budget deficit of $500,000, we could sure use that money,” Peri said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed in his draft budget increasing state aid only if the Legislature agrees to pass his education agenda that includes changes to teacher evaluations, tenure, certification and preparation, as well as increased support for charter schools.
If the Cuomo agenda is passed, the governor proposed increasing aid to all schools by $1.1 billion.
Hubbard explained several scenarios where the board could use reservefunds to pay for expenses. Those expenses are usually covered by the district’s revenues instead of its savings, he noted.
For the upcoming budget year, the district could empty its reserve account for workers’ compensation expenses to pay for its average yearly cost of claims of $59,000, Hubbard noted.
On average, the district spends $20,000 a year on unemployment, he noted, adding that money could be culled from the district’s $190,348 unemployment insurance reserveaccount.
The board could also opt to pay for the yearly cost of the employee retirement costs from its $688,886 retirement reserve account, Hubbard said. On average, the district spends $160,000 on employee retirement costs a year, he said.
In a recent state audit, the state Comptroller’s Office suggested the district draw down some of its reserves, Hubbard noted.
In a separate state fiscal stress review, the Comptroller’s Office also found the district was susceptible to stress as it had the equivalent of 2.3 percent of its gross expenditures, or $311,035, left over at the end of the year instead of3 percent, Hubbard said.
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