The state Department of Public Instruction has approved Vance County Schools’ application for $2 million in Qualified Zone Academy Bond money.
“We’re excited about that,“ schools Finance Director Rudi Ligon said in sharing the good news with the Board of Education’s Finance Committee on Wednesday. She said the next step in receiving the money, which is a long-term, no-interest loan of federal funds, will be a meeting with County Manager Jerry Ayscue on how he wants to proceed. The county commissioners previously approved the application for the money.
QZAB money goes toward capital expenses but may not be used for new construction. Some of the projects were included in the school board’s $28.1 million facility-needs request in December, so this borrowing will chip away at the overall need for capital spending that is hanging over the county.
The QZAB projects are spread over eight of the county’s 15 schools, but the biggest beneficiaries by far are Northern Vance High School, which will get $775,000 for a new roof; Southern Vance High School, which will get $258,705 for renovations to the air-conditioning system; and E.M. Rollins Elementary School, which will get $502,950 for energy-efficient windows, $93,610 for new seats and flooring in the auditorium, $86,211 for painting inside and outside, and $15,000 for new ceiling tiles in the cafeteria and auditorium, among other projects.
The Finance Committee also voted 2-1, with Chairman Robert Duke opposed, to forward a series of budget amendments and transfers to the full board.
“It’s standard stuff,” Ligon said.
The amendments include changes to the current $1.453 million QZAB project, which is gaining $33,995 from sales tax refunds and interest payments.
The changes also include an addition of $21,767 from the state for increased gasoline costs. Ligon said that’s about the amount the school system spends on gas each week.
Duke asked how the school system is absorbing the sharp rise in gas prices during the current fiscal year. Ligon said that in addition to the state money, some local money has been added to the fuel budget, but for the most part the schools’ transportation unit is absorbing the costs by cutting elsewhere, such as running a little longer on a set of tires.
The school system is reducing the budgeted use of its general fund balance by $114,507, mostly because of various expenses that proved to be smaller than expected.
Transfers within the schools’ local funds include $13,425 to cover the purchase of weight equipment at Southern Vance High School, representing an advance on the allotment for the school’s athletic program for the next fiscal year. A coach is getting a good deal, and student-athletes can use the equipment this summer, Ligon said. The coach’s allotment will be reduced by the same amount in the next fiscal year.
The biggest amendment the Finance Committee forwarded to the school board for consideration tonight accounts for the second installment of a five-year Reading First grant that will be worth a total of almost $5 million. The money is a federal grant that comes through the state.
The $915,647 installment now coming to Vance County wasn’t expected until the next fiscal year, which starts July 1. But Ligon said the state apparently got ahead on distributing the money.
The program is big enough that Vance County Schools had to hire a person just to administer Reading First.
In a final action Wednesday, the Finance Committee voted 3-0 to retain Holden, Moss, Knott, Clark, Copley & Hoyle as the school system’s auditor. The contract, for $23,500, will require the approval of the full school board tonight.
“I was very pleased with the way they handled the audit this last year,” Ligon said. She said the Henderson firm’s charge is “very reasonable” and rose by only $500.
There will be some additional hourly fees when the firm does auditing work at individual schools, Ligon said.
“I think we have a good working relationship with them, and I feel like we can trust them to point out the things you need to know,” Ligon said.
Duke said he has a problem with the same firm handling the audit year after year, but that’s not as big an issue now because Vance County Schools changed finance directors only two years ago.
Ligon said she generally agrees, but Holden, Moss is better than a typical local auditing firm because “they’re highly experienced” at auditing school systems across the state.