RHINEBECK CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT/FINANCE COMMITTEE
Minutes of Meeting of May 27, 2014
Present:
Deirdre Burns, Lisa Rosenthal, Diane Kantaros (partially by phone), Joe
Phelan, Tom Burnell
The Committee discussed the following topics: (a) State Senator Terry Gipson’s
education bills; (b) new bus routing software; (c) cafeteria program financial update; and
(d) child nutrition update.
A.
Gipson Education Bills: Tom briefed the Committee on two bills introduced in
the NY State Senate by Senator Gipson in February 2014: # 6565 (“Property Tax Relief
Act”), and #6566 (“School Tax Property Tax Reduction Act”). The bills were included
in the “FYI” section of the BOE packet for the May 27, 2014 meeting, along with a
memo dated May 22, 2014 analyzing the bills and their projected impact on the district if
adopted. Without repeating all that appears in the memo (which was largely the subject
of the Committee’s conversation about this topic), the Committee recommends that that
the BOE send a letter to Senator Gipson pointing out the problems identified in the
memo. Committee members expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of outreach
from Senator Gipson and his staff to obtain input from the district before releasing these
bills, especially in light of the meeting with the senator earlier in the year, during which
Joe specifically invited him to use the district and the administration as resources for
developing education-related legislation. The Committee also discussed the question
raised by BOE member Laura Schulkind about the cost to the district of the unfunded
mandates imposed by the various governmental bodies (federal and state primarily).
Tom stated that it is very difficult to quantify the costs, mainly because most of them are
in the nature of additional demands placed on the time of existing district employees
rather than actual dollar costs that can be tied directly to such mandates. Tom reported
that some districts in the county attempted, a few years ago, to quantify the cost of
unfunded mandates in place at the time, but the results were seen as overly speculative.
B.
New Bus Routing Software: Tom reported that new software from a provider
called Transfinder was installed on Sue McCormick’s computer on the morning of May
27th and would be installed on his computer once the new hardware that is upgraded to
address the Windows XP decommissioning was received. The purpose of the software is
to attempt to reroute some school bus routes to lower the district’s transportation costs.
This was identified as a way of setting off the expected increase in Special Education
costs (including transportation costs) resulting from several new, high-needs students
moving into the district during this school year. Tom projects that the district will exceed
the 2013-14 budget in the Special Education area as a result.
C.
Cafeteria Program Financial Update: Tom briefed the Committee on the
current financial situation of the cafeteria program, which is not as positive as it appeared
to be at the last briefing several months ago. Currently the program is experiencing a
deficit of over $73,000, though that figure is not offset by the value of the inventory held
by the program. The next update will include that figure and should bring the deficit
down somewhat, though it will not eliminate it. Tom also told us that he had been in
contact with Isidoro (“Izzy”) Fattore, of Cognitive Cuisine, a company that offers various
services to school districts and others seeking assistance with meal services. Cognitive
Cuisine could provide consulting assistance, or take over the program entirely, or just
provide meals it prepares to users in the district (the company specializes in “all scratch”
cooking, without relying on packaged entrees or junk food). Mr. Fattore has also offered
to meet with Tom and view the district’s program in operation, at no cost, and to make
some suggestions on potential improvements. Tom also pointed out that the district’s
food program would be changing soon based on the new federal nutritional requirements
(discussed below). In terms of steps the district could take to reduce costs of the
program, Tom believes that staffing may need to be reduced to do so, though exactly how
to make such reductions is still being considered. It was suggested that the Committee
explore the idea of hiring a consultant who could assist the district in developing a
program that meets our financial and food quality needs.
D.
Child Nutrition Update: Tom provided the Committee with a printout of a
PowerPoint presentation he received summarizing the new federal nutritional
requirements for school meal programs. Highlights of the presentation were: (1) starting
next year, the district will not need to charge the reduced-price to families not qualifying
for free lunches, which would benefit those families but cost the district some lost
revenues (it is not clear how much at this point); (2) the new requirements go into effect
on July 1, 2014 and apply to all food sold from midnight through 30 minutes after the end
of the school day, and all food sold includes food sold to staff; (3) all foods must be preportioned to comply with nutritional standards (which will be more time-consuming for
the cafeteria staff and thus more costly); (4) no caffeine-containing products can be sold
to anyone in the elementary or middle school in areas to which students have access
(which, essentially, puts all areas of those schools off-limits for sale of caffeinated
beverages including coffee); and (5) starting on July 1, 2015, all food service directors
must be licensed, but there are not presently any licensing standards or procedures in
place and, thus, the financial impact of this requirement is not clear.
Next Regular Meeting: June 17, 2014
Dated:
June 4, 2014
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Rosenthal
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