Madison County School Board member John Lackey expressed concern about the amount of spending approved by the school board during its Thursday meeting at Madison Central High School.
Lackey was the lone member to vote against buying security cameras at B. Michael Caudill Middle School.
The cost of the cameras is estimated at $32,779 with installation not to exceed $6,820. Lackey said he also was concerned about future expenses to maintain the cameras.
When Lackey asked how many schools currently use security cameras, the response was two.
“We have to cut corners wherever we can,” Lackey said. “We can do without a security system” at Caudill Middle School.
Lackey cited a letter the school board recently sent to state Sen. Ed Worley and state representatives Lonnie Napier, Harry Moberly and Don Pasley.
Lackey provided a copy of the letter to the Register.
The letter states “our motor-vehicle tax receipts continue to go down, utility tax receipts are flat, interest income is down $300,000 and our normal SEEK receipts will be reduced by approximately $670,000 because of reduced attendance rates due to flu-related absences which negates our 2nd month growth factor.
“These factors are significant for the 2009-10 school year because we are using $1 million of Capital Outlay Funds reserved from a previous year and $600,000 of ARRA (federal stimulus) funds (two-time money 2009-10 and 2010-11) to balance our 2009-10 budget. If we do not receive the anticipated $670,000 SEEK increase for our increased enrollment of 170 students, we will reduce our contingency fund balance by approximately $670,000.
“We are currently dealing with $2.3 million budget imbalance for 2009-10 by use of Capital Outlay funds and a portion of our fund balance. The continued use of Capital Outlay funds for general fund expenditures reduces out bend potential for needed upcoming building projects by as much as $13 million.”
Without the measures, the district would exhaust its contingency funds in three years, the letter states.
“We have reduced staff at our high schools and Central Office,” the letter continues. “We have reduced transportation expenses significantly. We have reduced utility consumption by 10 percent. Further reduction of staff due to insufficient funding will result in an increase in class sizes and a decrease in instructional and support programs across our district.”
Lackey said the security cameras were an unnecessary expense when the district was searching for ways to cut costs.
Other news
A Richmond physician went before the school board, expressing concern that he believes the LearnWell Clinics are having a negative impact on local students and health care professions.
Dr. Richard Blum, of Madison Pediatrics, spoke during the comments from the audience portion of the meeting.
He said he and a number of local medical professionals feel the LearnWell Clinics are not providing proper care for students.
Blum called it a “flawed program” that “provides episodic care and undermines the medical home (the primary care provider).”
The LearnWell Clinics were introduced in August as a partnership between Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center and the Madison County School District.
Clinics at Madison Central High School and Madison Southern High School offer treatment to every student from kindergarten through high school in all of the county’s public and private schools.
On school days, any student with prior parental consent, has the ability to visit one of the clinics when referred by a school nurse.
The concern is that “no medical provider was asked to be part of the planning process” and that the health professionals at these clinics are “not able to work closely with kids like their primary care provider can,” said Blum.
“They are limited in their knowledge of these kids,” Blum said. “There are no follow-up visits. That goes to the primary care provider, who isn’t aware of the first visit.”
Blum also expressed concern that no parent would be present during each LearnWell Clinic visit.
Concern about the LearnWell Clinics has been an ongoing issue among Madison County health care professionals.
Bob Hudson, chief executive at Pattie A. Clay, addressed many of the concerns about the LearnWell Clinics for a story that appeared Sept. 5 in the Register.
At the end of each day, the LearnWell Clinics will enter their records into Pattie A. Clay’s electronic database and the information will be available to other providers with appropriate hospital security, Hudson said.
“Parents can request that any assessment of their child be sent to the primary care physician anytime their child is seen at a LearnWell Clinic,” Hudson said.
Hudson said that at least 760 Madison County students do not have health insurance and the LearnWell Clinics provide a place for them to visit.
“Our intent is not to take the place of the children’s primary care providers,” Hudson said. “We want to give busy families and uninsured families another treatment option that will help keep their children well and keep them in school so they can learn.”
Tim Mandell can be reached at tmandell@richmondregister.com or 623-1669 ext. 6696.
Local News
Board member worried about spending
- Local News
-
-
‘She wasn’t just a teacher’ : Lambert retires after 43 years at Berea
Scroll to the bottom of the story to read "Love for Lambert: Berea graduates share memories of their teacher," as well as a list of other Berea retirees this year.
Writer’s Note: Brenda Lambert is the reason I write articles today (Class of 2000).
Years ago, a little blonde-haired girl from Rockcastle County gathered her friends to “play school” in a 10-by-10 foot playhouse her father built.
Even at 12 years old, Brenda Lambert knew she wanted to be a teacher one day.
“I always felt like an old person trapped in a young person's body,” said Lambert, who is retiring after 43 years of service to Berea Community School. -
Special Olympics return for 18th year at EKU
Next weekend, the Special Olympics Kentucky State Summer Games return to Eastern Kentucky University campus. This is the 18th consecutive year EKU has hosted the event.
The games will be Friday through June 2. About 1,300 athletes will compete this year. -
Assault charges reduced, dismissed by grand jury
Two men arrested in connection with serious assaults had their charges reduced, and in one case dismissed, by a Madison grand jury.
Jerry Wayne Edington, 34, of Berea Road, was charged Jan. 19 with second-degree assault after an altercation at the Blue Moon bar on East Irvine Street, according to a Richmond police report. -
Dump of the Day
The Dump of the Day is a recurring series the newspaper publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Page A7 in Sunday's paper to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.
-
Paradise Cove open through Labor Day
Opening day of Paradise Cove Family Aquatic Center coincided with a spike in temperatures Friday which reached 90 degrees. The facility, located in Richmond’s Lake Reba Park, will be open through Sept. 3. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
-
Dump of the Day
An old mattress, a car seat and other debris sit Friday afternoon on North Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets where it was first spotted Thursday. The “Dump of the Day” is a recurring series the Richmond Register publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Sunday’s Richmond Register to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.
-
Undefeated academic team brings pride to Madison Middle School
Madison Middle School 6th and 7th grade academic teams have been undefeated for the last two years.
The 8th grade team also has done well, having some students qualify to compete at the state level. -
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
-
Man is indicted on additional sex charge involving teen in 1998
A man already accused of sex abuse in November 2011 has been indicted on a charge of first-degree rape involving a child in 1998.
Charles W. Peyton, 63, of East Irvine Street, was indicted Wednesday by a Madison grand jury. He used “forcible compulsion” to have sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl between March 1 and May 1 in 1998, according to the indictment. -
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
Officers responded to a call in the 1000 block of Scaffold Cane Road about a man trying to break into a home, according to a release from BPD Public Information Officer Jake Reed. - More Local News Headlines
-
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
