Tim Mandell
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.
