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DALLAS TWP. — The Dallas School Board approved a final budget for the 2019-20 school year that increases spending by $1.34 million to $39.9 million with no tax increase, leaving the property tax rate at 13.6338 mills. A mill is a $1 tax on every $1,000 of assessed property value.
The board also approved a contract with SEON for a new bus tracking and routing system that Director of Operations Jason Rushmer said would give the district a wide range of new tools, including real-time tracking of buses, records of speed, bus stops, routes, and other data, and — using student ID cards — tracking each student when they board and leave the bus.
Business Manager Grant Palfey said the district was able to avoid a tax increase despite the increase in spending thanks to money saved by refinancing $27 million in bonds last month, and thanks to an increase in state money. Board Member Pat Musto noted the board avoided a tax increase and still hired two new special education teachers.
Superintendent Thomas Duffy said the district hired two special education teachers to replace retiring staff, and two new hires, one for a new autistic support classroom, and one to fill new needs in the high school. The new employees are Leslie Baltimore at $40,693, Pauline Rose at $40,532, Tamara Broody at $40,693, and Kelsey Suponcie at $46,645.
Bus system
Duffy also said the deal with SEON, which initially runs from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020, costs a total of $2,900 a month for 12 months, but that the company contracted to provide bus service — G. Davis — has agreed to pay $900 monthly in exchange for access to some data generated by the new system. Duffy said all district student transportation vehicles are expected to have the hardware installed by the start of the 2020-21 school year. After the initial installation, Duffy, said the monthly cost drops to about $800 and the contract runs for four more years.
The district is currently piloting the program on two buses that are running different routes until all have been tested using the new system. Rushmer displayed a slide show highlighting the features, noting data and other features can be accessed by the district online “from anywhere.”
Along with tracking bus speed, stops and other route data, the system includes video and audio recordings down-loadable via Wi-Fi once the bus returns to the district, rather than the current system of having to physically remove a storage disk from each bus. Each bus can be equipped with a computer screen that can provide turn-by-turn directions to a driver, something Rushmer said may be particularly helpful to substitute or new drivers.
Routes can be evaluated for efficiency, showing numbered stops and allowing a district official to add a stop to a routed by dragging an icon onto a screen at the district office that would appear, with directions, on the driver’s screen.
New school
And Ethan Fick of D’huy Engineering gave an update on construction of the new Intermediate School, saying it remains on schedule with no change orders , a rarity in most new school construction projects. Fick said “substantial completion” should be done July 10, with Final completion July 25. Abatement and site work for demolition of Dallas Elementary would run from Aug. 1 through the 15, and demolition done immediately after.
The board approved an amendment to a sponsorship agreement with FNCB bank to install a new electronic sign at the junction of Hildebrandt Road and the main campus access road that leads to Dallas Elementary and the middle school/high school parking lots. FNCB sponsored the new scoreboard in the stadium and agreed to sponsor this sign in exchange for extending the sponsorship deal for six years. The bank pays for the signs in exchange for having its name across the bottom of them.