Monroe fiscal commission to consider cost of athletic department

Stressing that his requests were not a definite sign of things to come, Financial Planning and Supervision Commission chairperson Mike Watson asked the Monroe school board for a serious list of potential cost-cutting measures in preparation for the committee’s next meeting in September.

A 7.05-mill emergency operating levy failed by a slim margin on Tuesday night. With a similar levy set to go on the November ballot, Watson said he wanted to know his options now in case that effort would also fail.

Watson asked for:

• Monroe’s current five-year forecast, as it would be without passage of the levy.

• The state minimum staffing requirements, and where the Monroe Local School District currently fits in line with those numbers.

• The savings the district would generate if it were to eliminate all extra-curricular activities, which would include all sports and all after-school events.

• The estimated amount of money the district would save if they were to close all school buildings after school hours each night.

• The amount of money one mill would generate in tax money.

“What we want to do is put together a recovery plan that would work for you, and would still get you a positive balance,” Watson said. “We don’t want to make it impossible that, once we leave here, you can’t operate. I’m not sitting up here making threats or anything else, but these are items that we need to have some dollar amounts attached to. … If the levy fails in November, the board could meet the following week and know what they would possibly need to cut.”

School Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli outlined savings the board was finding in an operating contract with Xerox that would save the district $26,000.

She also refuted claims from an earlier board meeting that the new Sodexo janitorial/custodial contract was more expensive than the district’s previous deal.

Lolli said the Sodexo contract, which went into affect on Aug. 1, is for $630,000 this school year. According to her figures, the maintenance and janitorial costs last school year, which included outside maintenance fees, topped $814,000.

The commission tabled a vote on the district’s vendor contract for the 2012-‘13 school year until more details could be found. The contract included the district’s $65,000 share of payment for a business manager who will also work for the Middletown City School District among other items.

With school in session, the next meeting will be held at 4 p.m. Sept. 12 in the Monroe Elementary School cafeteria. The commission had been meeting at 2 p.m., but chose to move the meeting time back two hours in order not to interfere with school hours.

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