The Culver School Board got an update Monday on the corporation’s efforts to sell the Monterey School Building. Earlier this month, the school board asked for an updated appraisal of the property, but Interim Superintendent Chuck Kitchell told board members this week that still hasn’t been done yet.
Corporation attorney Jeff Houin says that whether the board decides to seek bids for the property or hold a public auction, it still needs to be appraised. “In reviewing the statute, you actually have to have two appraisals, but they don’t both have to be licensed commercial appraisers,” he says. “It’s hard to find licensed general appraisers in this area. But you do have to have two appraisers and then you have to decide on procedure.”
Kitchell agreed to continue working on getting the building appraised. The school corporation estimates selling the building will save about $50,000 a year on maintenance costs.
Another cost-cutting measure being considered is moving the corporation’s administrative offices from their stand-alone building and into the Middle/High School Building. Kitchell told the school board that the corporation’s technology director is looking into some of the expenses involved with such a move, “Daniel Medesi is working on getting some costs up for the moving of the fiber optics that comes into this building. We would have to move those fiber optics to go directly over to the high school. So when we get that amount, I will certainly pass that onto you because that obviously is going to figure into whether or not we really want to leave this building, depending on how much it’s going to cost us to move everything over to the Middle School/High School.” Previous estimates have put the cost at $30,000, while the corporation is expected to save $50,000 a year by vacating its current administrative offices.
Also during Monday’s meeting, Kitchell notified the school board that the Indiana Department of Education has begun its audit of the corporation’s finances. Corporation Treasurer Casey Howard says they will be looking at the period between July of 2013 and June of 2015. The auditors expect that process to take up to a month to complete.
Additionally, the school board gave its final approval to the corporation’s updated bylaws and policies.
