Even with permanent improvement fund money being set aside for a planned stadium overhaul, the Marysville school district puts millions of dollars toward facility and equipment upgrades each year.
At Thursday night’s meeting, district treasurer Todd Johnson provided the board of education with a snapshot of how Marysville spent $5.67 million in permanent improvement money in fiscal year 2018. Permanent improvement money funds large projects and item purchases, rather than paying for expenses related to employees.
Johnson explained that $1 million dollars of that money was being set aside for an $8.9 million renovation project at the high school football and track facility, which will include construction of a new middle school grid facility. The $1 million dollars reflects an unplanned boost in revenue from area taxing districts, created by an increase to property values.
The taxing districts put nearly $2.7 million into the schools’ permanent improvement funds last years, compared to $2.1 million from real estate taxes. Other sources of revenue include a public utility tax and homestead exemption rollback money.
Technology, asphalt work and general maintenance share nearly identical portions of the fund, each coming in at a little more than $1 million. Other expenditures from the fund include $618,000 for transportation expenses and $392,000 for costs related to the curriculum.
Of the maintenance expenditures, more than $850,000 of the money went to large mechanical projects such as the replacement of windows at the high school, new security cameras and masonry work. Other maintenance expenses include areas include roofing ($106,000), athletics ($56,000), custodial equipment ($39,000), flooring ($43,000) and furniture ($25,000).
Technology expenditures include the purchase of student laptops and district computers and improvements to the district wireless network. Asphalt projects include paving at the high school, Bunsold Middle School and Edgewood Elementary.
Transportation expenses include the purchase of seven school buses. Curriculum expenses include adoption of a unified arts/elective program and purchase of textbooks for College Credit Plus courses.
Covered in other expenses of $643,000 are debt payments, copier leases and county auditor fees.
Johnson said projects slated for fiscal year 2019 include paving the south parking lot at Creekview Intermediate, asphalt work to playground areas around the district, purchase of an HVAC unit for Raymond Elementary, additional upgrades to the school security systems, creation of an auto tech pathway course of study, adoption of new math textbooks and continued payments toward the stadium renovation project.