By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—The Otter Valley Unified Union (OVUU) School Board convened for its regular meeting on Tuesday, December 19 at the Neshobe School.
The Board spent time reviewing the second draft of its proposed budget, which will be put before district voters in March. As it now stands, the proposed budget contemplates a 16% increase over the current budget, coming in at $27,234,000. This is not a final budget and does not necessarily represent the figure that the Board will propose to voters in March.
Much of the increase is due to the expiration of ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funding that was provided by the federal government during COVID to help schools weather the pandemic. Now that the funding is reaching its end, schools have to decide which ESSER-funded resources to retain and which to eliminate.
Additionally, some positions that were funded by the OVUU budget will be shifted to the Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union (RNESU) budget in order to keep the OVUU budget within the “guardrail” that caps property tax increases at 5%. The current proposal is $215 per student over that limit, which means that the 5% increase cap would not apply for the next 4 years. The current tax rate is $1.21. With a 5% increase, it would rise to $1.27. Without the 5% protective cap, it would likely rise to $1.36.
The currently proposed shifts from OVUU to RNESU represents $898,000 in the total budget. At the elementary level, those shifts represent $589,000. At the secondary level, they represent $309,000.
Some positions have been eliminated entirely, including a paraeducator at Neshobe and the dean of students at OV.
The proposed RNESU budget envisions an increase of 11.85%, which will become an assessment to both OV and Barstow. The District decided against hiring a School Resource Officer at this time for budgetary reasons.
The next version of the proposed OVUU budget will be presented at one of the Board’s January meetings.
The Board also discussed student councils at OV and Neshobe. Brendan McLoughlin and Jasmin Rivera, of OV’s Student Council, offered an overview of the council’s efforts to increase student engagement. Much of the efforts involve student activities, such as dances, rallies, and fundraisers. Shauna Lee of the Neshobe Student Council offered a presentation on that council’s efforts at Neshobe, which include the Kindness Committee, which is tasked with promoting kindness at school, and the Poster Committee, which creates and displays posters around the building emphasizing kindness and gratitude. Members of the OVUU Board expressed their appreciation for the students’ efforts.
OV student Savannah Cook and Susannah White of RNESU presented to the Board an update on the Up for Learning program at OV, which seeks to promote better relations between students and teachers. About 40 students participate in the program. Students have responded positively to the program, feeling as if their concerns were being heard.
Sarah Crossmon, Supervisor of Pre-K programs, spoke to the Board about the District’s work in this area. The programs will offer expanded hours, which in turn will make them eligible for increased Essential Early Education (EEE) funding. There are programs at Neshobe and Otter Creek Academy (OCA) at Whiting. The programs for three-year-olds operate twice a week for 6 hours each day. The programs for four-year-olds operate 3 days per week for 6 hours each. Currently there are 98 in-district students and 21 out-of-district students (their home districts are billed for these students).
OV Principal Michael Ruppel provided the results from a facilities survey that sought to determine priorities for facilities upgrades. The results of the survey indicate that the priorities, for those who answered, were 1) physical security of both interior and exterior; 2) renovation of the middle school; 3) creation of additional storage facilities; 4) renovation of locker rooms. There were 171 responses to the survey (149 students and 22 staff). The Board will revisit the issue this month.
