Mathews board mulls millage for bond issue

One board member suggested the district may have to eliminate school lunches to balance the lunch budget.

BY JORDAN COHEN

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

VIENNA — Mathews Board of Education expects its $22.5 million bond issue for a new kindergarten-through-12th-grade school building will cost less than the 9.87 mills it had expected.

Board member Roy Pratt said that a review of utility costs showed that the anticipated efficiency of the new building along with its size indicates substantial savings from what the district currently pays. The new building would replace all four district buildings, including Mathews High School.

The 9.87-mill figure included an additional 0.5-mill operating levy that Pratt believes may now be unnecessary.

“We could have savings of $263,000 in utility bills, so I don’t think that half-mill will be needed,” Pratt said.

The reduction would drop the proposed millage to 9.37, but it could go even lower. The board has applied for zero-interest school construction bonds, and despite the reduced state budget recently approved by the Legislature, funding is available for the bonds, according to Teri Andrika, district treasurer.

“If our application is approved, the millage could go as low as 8.6,” Andrika said.

The board had hoped to pass the first of two resolutions to place the bond issue on the November ballot at Wednesday’s meeting, but members said legal counsel is still reviewing finances and other related issues. The board hopes to learn the status of its funding application within a few days and will vote on the first resolution at a special meeting Aug. 3 and a second one Aug. 13.

In other matters, Pratt suggested that the board consider other options for the school lunch program, including outside suppliers for box lunches in the wake of a $37,000 deficit for the recently concluded school year. The district spent more than $309,000 for the school lunch program, which included the deficit figure.

“We would have to raise the cost of lunch to nearly $3, and I don’t know of any school district around here that charges that much,” Andrika said.

The treasurer said that deficits in the school lunch budget have been building for five years, and Pratt warned that if no solution can be found through outside contractors or box lunches, “our only option is not to provide lunches at all.”

Board member Terry Woodyard disagreed.

“My little editorial comment is that there may be kids who don’t get anything to eat during the day,” Woodyard said.

The Mathews district has 900 students. There were no figures immediately available on the number of students participating in the school lunch program.

Superintendent Lee Seiple said he planned to “check with legal counsel” about Pratt’s suggestion.