SMETHPORT — The directors of the Seneca Highlands Intermediate Unit 9 on Monday approved the educational agency’s proposed general operating budget that amounts to $1,288,915 and includes expenditures for administration, curriculum, management, pupil personnel and instructional media services.
The vote was 10 to 0.
This was the first step in the budget approval process. It now must be OKd by a majority, or eight of the 14 school districts in McKean, Cameron, Elk and Potter counties — IU9’s administrative area — and by at least a majority of the proportionate votes of all school districts.
Copies of the proposed budget and ballots for electing IU directors will be sent to the 14 districts for the respective boards to consider in April.
In a related matter, the IU9 board is slated to reorganize in June. In making that announcement, President David Mensch of Port Allegany said he and Joe Bennett, the Otto-Eldred representative, will not be eligible for IU9 directors at that time since neither one is seeking reelection to their respective school boards.
With the approval coming at this meeting, the IU administration will submit a grant application to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for 166 Adult Basic Education and General Education Diploma students. While the exact amounts of the grants are not known currently, they should be similar to last year’s figures. For 2016-17, the federal adult education grant amounted to $173,728 and the state adult education grant was $80,000.
The IU9 board also approved a memorandum of understanding between the Potter County Education Council and the Seneca Highlands Career and Technical Center, in which the PCEC will coordinate the CTCs vehicle inspection certification course.
According to the CTCs 2017-18 school calendar, which gained approval Monday, the opening day for students will be Aug. 23, and May 30, 2018, is to be the final day for students.
David DiTanna of Buffamante Whipple Buttafaro, CPAs, reviewed the IU9 and CTC audit reports for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016. In his summary of those documents, DiTanna said, “They were clean audits with no exceptions.”
The directors approved the audit reports.
IU9 Executive Director Don Wismar lauded the work of Kim DeGolier and her staff in the agency’s business and management division for their accounting included in the audits.
The directors revisited the technology and communications agreement with Zito Business of Coudersport after this matter was tabled in February until additional information could be gathered.
Cynthia Murphy, director of curriculum, technology and resources for the IU, explained that with this proposed contract, Zito is to provide a Hosted PBX-Solution — telephones — for the Early Intervention offices in Port Allegany and the IU9 administrative offices for 12 months from July 1 through June 30, 2018 at a monthly fee of $907.20, which represents a savings. The current rate is $1,169.00.
The new contract was approved by a unanimous vote.
In yet another vote, the directors approved Wismar’s appointment as trustee of the Seneca Highlands Regional Insurance Trust representing the IU. “Until now, the IU never had a vote on matters coming before the trust,” Wismar said.
“St. Marys Area School District is no longer participating in the trust,” he noted.
