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School board expects to ask city for more money for salary increases for staff

Posted at 7:54 pm May 17, 2017
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Oak Ridge Schools presented its proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 to the Oak Ridge Board of Education on Tuesday, May 9, 2017.

Oak Ridge Schools presented its proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 to the Oak Ridge Board of Education on Tuesday, May 9, 2017.

 

The Oak Ridge Board of Education expects to ask the Oak Ridge City Council for more money for a 2.5 percent salary increase for teachers and staff members.

The total amount needed to fund the 2.5 percent salary increase is $855,810, after about $98,000 worth of budget adjustments.

Most of the money for the salary increase could be available if the City of Oak Ridge agrees to continue putting into the budget $538,046 worth of funding that was given to the school system last year on a one-time basis to help pay for a digital device initiative that includes convertible laptops for students, among other expenses. In other words, the school board will ask the city to make that $538,046 a recurring source of funding, as opposed to non-recurring (one-time) money.

The school board will then ask for an additional $317,764 on top of the $538,046, or $855,810 total.

Oak Ridge Vice Chair Bob Eby made the proposal to ask for increased funding from the city. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Front Page News, Government, K-12, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: Angi Agle, Bob Eby, City of Oak Ridge, Karen Gagliano, Keys Fillauer, Laura McLean, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge City Council, Paige Marshall, salary increase

Oak Ridge school board has March 3 retreat

Posted at 12:22 pm February 22, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Board of Education will discuss a range of issues including legal matters, the budget, and facilities during a March 3 retreat.

The retreat is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Thursday, March 3, in the Oak Ridge Schools School Administration Building conference room.

Here is the agenda: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Front Page News, K-12, Meetings and Events Tagged With: Allen Thacker, Bruce Borchers, Bruce Lay, budget, facilities, Karen Gagliano, Larry Giordano, Martin McDonald, Oak Ridge Schools, retreat, School Administration Building, Tracey Beckendorf-Edou

City budget raises trash fee, provides more for city infrastructure

Posted at 10:31 pm July 27, 2015
By John Huotari 11 Comments

Oak Ridge City Council on July 28, 2015

The Oak Ridge City Council raised the trash pickup fee by $3.50 during a special budget meeting on Monday, July 27, 2015, and the Council set aside an extra $260,000 for capital projects such as buildings and schools. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today) 

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:05 a.m. July 28.

There will be a $3.50 increase in the monthly trash fee, and more money—$260,000—will be reserved for capital projects such as buildings and schools, while city officials are not expected to change the new property tax rate provided by the state after five-year reappraisals completed this year.

The trash fee will increase from $7 to $10.50 per month. That change is expected to provide another $335,000 per year in revenue.

The new tax rate—state officials call it a tax-neutral rate—is $2.52 per $100 of assessed value. It was approved in the first of two readings by the Oak Ridge City Council during a three-hour special meeting on Monday. The second reading hasn’t been scheduled yet, but the meeting is expected soon. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Bruce Borchers, budget, capital projects, Charlie Hensley, Chuck Hope, Ellen Smith, five-year reappraisals, garbage pickup, Karen Gagliano, Kelly Callison, Main Street—Oak Ridge, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Mall, Oak Ridge Schools, pay raise, property assessment, property tax rate, reappraisals, Rick Chinn, Roane County, tax increment financing, tax rate, tax rate increase, tax-neutral rate, TIF, trash fee, Trina Baughn, Warren Gooch

Oak Ridge may not increase tax rate above reappraisal change

Posted at 1:35 pm July 24, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge City Council 2014

The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above in 2014. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

Property tax rates are already expected to go up in local cities and counties because of an unprecedented drop in property assessments.

And additional increases have been approved or are anticipated in budgets that have already passed in Anderson County, Clinton, Oliver Springs, Roane County, and Rocky Top.

Oak Ridge could be the exception. The city could see an increase in the certified tax rate (state officials call it a tax-neutral rate) from $2.39 per $100 of assessed value to $2.52.

So far, no Oak Ridge City Council members have publicly endorsed raising taxes beyond the change in the tax-neutral rate required by the five-year reappraisals completed this year.

Four City Council members, a majority of the seven-member body, said during a budget work session on Tuesday that they will support the $2.52 tax-neutral rate or that it’s important to stay at that rate for now, until they have more information. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Government, Meetings and Events, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Bruce Borchers, budget, budget work session, certified tax rate, Charlie Hensley, Chuck Hope, Ellen Smith, Healthy Start, Karen Gagliano, Kelly Callison, Main Street—Oak Ridge, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Mall, Oak Ridge Schools, pay raise, property tax rate, Rick Chinn, Roane County, salary increase, tax increment financing, tax rate, tax rate increase, tax revenues, tax-neutral rate, TIF, Trina Baughn, Warren Gooch

Cocke County says case closed after widow releases suicide note, but parents dispute note

Posted at 3:07 pm June 16, 2015
By John Huotari 9 Comments

Alexander John Heitman

Alexander John Heitman

Officials say it was suicide. But the parents are skeptical.

So questions linger almost four years after Alexander John Heitman, 29, of Knoxville, was found dead in Cocke County after being reported missing by Oak Ridge Schools. Heitman reportedly died on Tranquility Ridge Drive outside Newport on July 25, 2011. Officials said it was suicide, a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

But Heitman’s parents, Don and Annette Heitman of Adams, Wisconsin, find it hard to believe. They aren’t the only ones. Some current and former Oak Ridge residents, including City Council member Trina Baughn, are also skeptical of the official cause of death.

Heitman’s widow, Kristie Heitman, is not. In February, she released a suicide note that she believes Alex, who was the supervisor of business and support services for Oak Ridge Schools, wrote the day before he died.

Neither is Cocke County Sheriff Armando Fontes. In March, he said the case is closed, and there is no reason to continue pursuing it. Investigators found no evidence that anyone else was involved, Fontes said.

But Don and Annette continue to seek answers. They started a website in October 2013 and used it to raise questions about the case. They’ve also asked for the death investigation to be re-opened, hired attorney Hugh Ward to help them, and won the support of Baughn and others. They’ve also asked the FBI to investigate. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Cocke County, Education, Front Page News, Government, K-12, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Alex Heitman, Alexander John Heitman, Anderson County District Attorney, Annette Heitman, Armando Fonte, audit, Bill Dean, check fraud, check fraud ring, Chuck Cagle, Cocke County, Cocke County Sheriff's Department, Dave Clark, death investigation, digital analysis, Don Heitman, forensic analysis, fraud, Hugh Ward, Jim Akagi, Karen Gagliano, Kristie Heitman, Newport Plain Talk, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Schools, ORPD, public records, Pugh and Company, Robert Caldwell, suicide, suicide note, Sword and Shield, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Terry Jarnigan, Tom Bailey, Tranquility Ridge Drive, Trina Baughn, Tyler Mayes, What Happened to Alex Heitman, William Brownlow Marsh

School board restores bus service this year

Posted at 8:52 pm August 11, 2014
By John Huotari 6 Comments

Oak Ridge School Bus Protest

A small group of parents and students protest the expanded “parent responsibility zone,” where bus service is not provided, before an Oak Ridge Board of Education meeting on Monday. The board agreed during the meeting to restore bus service to last year’s levels. Pictured above from left are Michelle Doka, Melanie Heiberg, Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn, protest organizer Laurie Paine, and her daughter Kaitlan Paine.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:15 a.m. August 12.

After hearing impassioned pleas from parents and grandparents, the Oak Ridge school board on Monday temporarily restored bus service to about 1,300 students who had been affected by an expanded but controversial “parent responsibility zone.” Parents of students who lived within that zone were responsible for getting their children to and from schools; bus service was not provided.

The parent responsibility zone, or PRZ, was expanded to 1.5 miles in June as part of a move to reduce a $1.25 million budget deficit. But parents of elementary and middle school students, in particular, objected to having students as young as five years old cross busy four-lane roadways like Oak Ridge Turnpike or Illinois Avenue to get to school, or walk past the homes of registered sex offenders or down roads with no sidewalks.

Parents, including single mothers, also expressed concerns about losing their jobs because they have to leave work early to pick up their children. They also said the expanded parent responsibility zone, which some call a “walk zone,” had a disproportionate impact on low-income families and elementary school children. They were disappointed by a lack of crossing guards near their schools, where their children or grandchildren cross busy roads. (City officials say they are accepting applications for crossing guards.)

“This is too dangerous,” resident Regina Wood said. “The safest way to get these kids to school is a bus,” resident Bill Dodge said.

On Monday, after a series of protests that started in July, the Oak Ridge Board of Education agreed in a 4-1 vote to use $300,000 in one-time money from the school system’s fund balance to restore the bus routes this year and then study the issue comprehensively before the next school year—or try to obtain more funding. The Monday night vote essentially reverses the June decision.

The bus routes likely won’t be restored immediately however, and possibly not until October. Among other things, up to three school bus drivers might need to be hired for an additional six routes, and buses will have to be made “road ready.” Still, advocates of restoring bus service were pleased for now. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Education, K-12, K-12, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Angi Agle, Bob Eby, Bruce Borchers, bus routes, bus service, Chris Maczak, Dan DiGregorio, Diane Gibson, fund balance, Jenny Richter, Karen Gagliano, Keys Fillauer, Laurie Paine, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge School Board, Oak Ridge Schools, Paige Marshall, parent responsibility zone, PRZ, walk zone

Oak Ridge Schools walk zone expanded to 1.5 miles, could affect 1,800

Posted at 8:22 pm June 24, 2014
By John Huotari 7 Comments

Charlsey Cofer at Oak Ridge School Board Meeting

Oak Ridge Preschool Interim Principal Charlsey Cofer, left, says that cutting preschool transportation could result in fewer students, which would in turn result in less funding.

Note: This story was last updated at 3:15 a.m. June 25.

Starting this fall, bus service will no longer be offered to students who live within 1.5 miles of Oak Ridge schools. The move is expected to save $500,000. It’s part of a larger effort to reduce a $1.25 million deficit.

The expansion of the “parent responsibility zone” for school transportation was the largest change approved by the Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday. The 1.5-mile walk zone could affect 1,800 students, said Karen Gagliano, Oak Ridge Schools director of business and support services.

Other budget changes approved Monday include a delay in the purchase of textbooks, a move expected to save about $330,000, and a $123,000 reduction in the number of planned hires of technicians. The school system now expects more than $200,000 in additional revenue from state Basic Education Program funding and sales and property tax revenues.

A technology initiative known as 1:1 is no longer being considered as originally envisioned, and 2 percent pay raises for school staff members are off the table.

But the school board worked to save preschool transportation, a program that costs roughly $74,000 per year. Interim Preschool Principal Charlsey Cofer warned that cutting transportation for preschoolers could result in a drop in the number of students, which would in turn affect funding. She said about 170 students used the transportation last year out of more than 200 who were enrolled. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Education, K-12, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: 1.5-mile walk zone, 1:1, 1:1 initiative, Angi Agle, Bruce Borchers, budget, bus service, Charlsey Cofer, deficit, Karen Gagliano, Keys Fillauer, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Schools, pay raises, preschool transportation, teachers, teaching assistants, technology initiative, textbooks, transportation, walk zone

See the local revenue numbers at center of school funding dispute

Posted at 12:12 am September 14, 2013
By John Huotari 12 Comments

Oak Ridge Schools Maintenance of Effort 2014

The maintenance of effort spreadsheet pictured above is used to determine whether local revenues for Oak Ridge Schools are the same from year to year. This spreadsheet, which includes some budget adjustments, shows a $250,000 shortfall. (Image courtesy Oak Ridge Schools/Karen Gagliano)

Note: This story was updated at 11:35 a.m.

It might be difficult to understand the concerns about Oak Ridge Schools’ funding and the state maintenance of effort test without seeing the local revenue numbers.

So, Oak Ridge Today has posted a copy of a maintenance of effort spreadsheet provided by Karen Gagliano, Oak Ridge Schools business and support services director. This spreadsheet includes budget adjustments that helped reduce the local revenue shortfall from the original $393,000 to a smaller $250,000.

Oak Ridge education officials have asked the city to cover that smaller shortfall to avoid a loss in state funding of $1.87 million per month and avert a school shutdown on Oct. 1. It’s the equivalent of a 2.5-cent property tax rate increase, although it’s too late for a tax increase this year. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Government, K-12, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: budget, funding, Karen Gagliano, maintenance of effort, MOE, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Schools, per-pupil spending, revenue, shortfall

Nothing to report yet on Oak Ridge Schools funding, state official says

Posted at 9:15 pm September 11, 2013
By John Huotari 7 Comments

Tennessee officials had little to say on Wednesday about the potential loss of state education funding that Oak Ridge school officials have said could cost the school system $1.87 million per month—and lead to a temporary school shutdown on Oct. 1.

“We are starting to have meetings with various people regarding this situation, but at this point, we don’t have anything to report,” said Kelli Gauthier, communications director for the Tennessee Department of Education. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Government, K-12, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Basic Education Program, BEP, Bruce Borchers, county taxes, education funding, enrollment, gentlemans agreement, Karen Gagliano, Kelli Gauthier, maintenance of effort, Mark Watson, MOE, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools, property tax rate, revenues, sales tax referendum, shortfall, Tennessee Department of Education

School officials say millions in state funding at risk, could close schools Oct. 1

Posted at 8:04 am September 11, 2013
By John Huotari 4 Comments

Bruce Borchers and Mark Watson

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers, left, and City Manager Mark Watson have had a series of meetings concerning the school system’s failure to pass a state maintenance of effort test, and a possible resolution of a $250,000 shortfall to avoid a potential loss in state funding of up to $1.87 million per month.

Schools want city to cover $250,000 shortfall, could require 2.5-cent tax increase

It’s a high-stakes battle between the city and the schools, with a potential loss of up to $1.87 million per month in state funding—and a possible shutdown of the school system on Oct. 1.

School officials said the Oak Ridge system has failed a state maintenance of effort test that requires local funding to remain at least the same from year to year. After some budget adjustments, there is a $250,000 shortfall, school officials said, and they want the city to cover it. It’s the equivalent of a 2.5-cent property tax rate increase.

“Unfortunately, we’re just in the position to ask the city to help us,” Oak Ridge Superintendent Bruce Borchers said Thursday. “They’re going to have to find that $250,000.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Government, K-12, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Basic Education Program, BEP, Bruce Borchers, funding, Janice McGinnis, Karen Gagliano, maintenance of effort, Mark Watson, Maryanne Durski, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools, property tax rate, revenues, sales tax referendum, school closure, Tennessee Department of Education

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Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

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