The Plymouth Community School Corporation is getting ready for the new school funding structure set to take effect in 2019. Last week, the school board adopted a resolution to establish new Education and Operations funds, as required by House Bill 1009.
School Board President Todd Samuelson explained that the two funds will take the place of four that are currently in place. “These are not additional funds, in terms of what we already have,” he said. “This will be in lieu of funds that we currently have. So the General Fund is now the Education Fund – or will be – and then Transportation, Bus Replacement, Capital Projects will be the Operations Fund.”
Plymouth Schools Business Manager Kandi Tinkey added that resolutions to place the money into the new funds will be brought to the board later.
Also during last week’s meeting, the school board took action to correct some oversights that were uncovered, during a regular audit by the State Board of Accounts. Superintendent Andy Hartley explained it had to do with money received from Marshall County through local income taxes. “So if the county receives additional dollars above what was certified, then we get those and they are receipted into a Levy Excess Fund,” he said. “Usually, we get a notice on those that, ‘Here it is. Receipt it here. Transfer it here,’ and there have been a few years over the past 11 where that was just an oversight. So this resolution will remedy that. It’s not new dollars. They’re not additional dollars. It’s just a step we need to take, to make sure our accounting is precise and accurate.”
Board members unanimously approved a series of the resolutions to transfer the necessary money into and out of Levy Excess funds, as specified by past budget orders. Samuelson stressed that, in spite of the terminology, the school corporation has not overtaxed residents or received more money than what is allowed.
