By AMY DAVIS

Pioneer Reporter



The final budget was passed after a brief discussion of what finances looked like for the year. Not many changes were made to the budget from the earlier discussions.

According to the district office on Tuesday, the general fund expenditures are $10,551,473 and the general fund revenues are $10,638,057. The Pioneer tried to reach district officials to get a better breakdown of the budget but was unable to reach them.

During the meeting and budget hearing on June 21, Superintendent Kent Stokes said the “pools are expensive to maintain, and the roof is failing.” This problem is being addressed and other questions were raised during the business meeting. The town of Lyman has questioned the amount of water being used to take care of the lawns. At Lyman Intermediate School, a beam was fixed in the old gym and parking lot work was done. At Lyman High School, Phase 3 of the parking lot work is under way. Cameras have also been placed on the campus. In addition, wi-fi has been added at the high school and all other school locations.

Stokes also talked about other maintenance work, such as the boiler in the administration building.

Tony Gillies, district business manager, said the district has received $15,000 from the state to explore building a new administration building. The district also did not receive any state funding for school lunch, unlike the $27,000 received for 2009-2010. This problem is still being talked about at the state level, but the outcome is unknown. Gillie estimated that Uinta 6 has $790,000 in reserves.

Board Member Dan Covolo asked Gillies about the pool repairs in relation to the budget. The district had hoped that the repairs might fall under capital maintenance, but the state said that pools do not fall under the emergency safety request clause. The board has discussed using 10 percent to make the repairs in phases: roof first, then the vent system in a few years. Covolo suggested that financing be obtained that would allow all repairs to be made immediately. Gillies said that he could check and see if that was possible and was asked to report back at the next meeting.

Transportation Director Bruce Bluemel asked the board for approval of a new bus route—a route to the Lizard Farm. The new route should cut down other routes by over an hour according to Bluemel. Other routes around town were revamped to cut down on those that were crossing each other. Bluemel said that some of the route changes were major and that parents would be notified of the new information.

The board also approved changes to the sick bank bylaws on the third reading. In new business, the board is looking to make changes regarding student out-of-state travel. A discussion ensued about the number of coaches/chaperones that were needed to accompany a group of students. The policy passed on the first reading, but board members asked to see changes to the wording before the second reading.



For the complete article see the 07-30-2010 issue.

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