Austin School Board passes budget with no tax increase
By Travis Moshier Endeavor News

Residents of Austin Area School District will see no real estate tax increase for the 2008-09 school year, despite increased expenses for utilities, teachers' salaries and other budget line items.

School board members unanimously approved the operating budget at this month's meeting. It calls for just over $3.31 million in expenditures.

The board also approved a new tobacco use policy for students. The measure defines tobacco as "a lighted or unlit cigarette, cigar, and pipe, other lit smoking products; and smokeless tobacco in any form."

Use or possession by students at any school function, regardless of location, or while occupying any school property (including vehicles) is a violation. Tobacco use by faculty and staff is covered under a different policy.

Discussion continued on a policy for use of school facilities.

The proposed policy removes the current $35 fee and has only a $20 refundable key fee. The fee can be waived for non-profit organizations. A responsible adult would have to be present at any event.

The board also adopted a 403b plan for the district, in response to an Internal Revenue Service regulation on retirement fund investments.

Previously, employees could invest their money with little control by the school district. The new plan will require tighter control and more communication between the district and investment vendors.

Districts have the option to either monitor the investments themselves or hire consultants. Austin has contracted with Employer Admin Services Inc. as third-party administrator and Kades-Margolis Corp as consultant.

In other business, the board:

• agreed to offer guitar instruction as part of the seventhgrade music curriculum, with a start-up cost of $500.

• rejected a request from teachers for a seventh-grade field trip to the Oneida River, south of State College, citing the fact that a similar trip took place earlier in the school year.

The district would have incurred a cost of $739 for the vans, fuel and program, as well as a cost for substitute teachers for a day.