Whitko Finance Board Elects Officers and Discusses Investments and Expenses

LARWILL-Scott Werstler led Wednesday’s Whitko Board of Finance meeting, where the Finance President, Vice President, and Secretary were elected.

Copy of AgendaPhoto byMelany Love

Georgia Tenney nominated Scott Werstler for president, which was seconded and passed 4-1, with Lynn Studebaker voting against. Annette Arnold nominated Deb Thomas for vice-president, which passed 5-0, as did Arnold’s nomination of Lynn Studebaker as secretary.

School Board Members & Whitko Career AcademyPhoto byMelany Love

WCS Business Manager Lynn Leininger then discussed the investment policy. Whitko gained $301,000 in interest last year across all combined accounts, and funds were moved to Star Bank, which provides better gains. School funds are divided into two categories: Operations and Education. Operations includes bus driver pay, bus purchases, capital projects, the superintendent's salary, custodial and maintenance costs, and the tech department funding. Education includes teacher and principal salaries and benefits, and instructional supplies. Though the state remains the largest provider of education revenue by far, operations are supported primarily through local taxes. Even so, revenue did not cover expenditures, and funds had to be moved from education to operations, something the state foresaw and planned for in the crafting of current policies. Up to 15% can be transferred over, and Leininger said he believes 90% of schools probably have to. Leininger also mentioned that despite any issues, Whitko does not have an operational referendum in place, which would allow additional funding to be taken from taxpayers. Studebaker expressed concern that more money was spent on operations than on education, and Arnold speculated that inflation may be a contributing factor in cost increases.

Images from Lynn Leininger's slideshowPhoto byMelany Love

Images from Lynn Leininger's slideshowPhoto byMelany Love

A Reorganization Meeting and Work Session followed (see other articles).

Author’s note: As an independent writer, my words are my own, for better or for worse (i.e. I have no editor or staff to help). While I make every effort to provide the most detailed and truthful reports, I am not educated in finance, politics, etc.; I am just an average concerned parent and community member doing my best to keep everyone informed. Additionally, I offer apologies for the poor quality of text on images; photos were taken of images on a screen.