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The Ironwood School Board passed a year end budget amendment last night at its regularly scheduled June meeting.
 
School Superintendent Tim Kolesar presented the data that went into the revised budget explaining that the amendment was the result of budget tightening during the current school year.

The revision requested by the superintendent resulted in a reduction of $39,335 in operational expense. A reduction of $29,335 in instructional staff expense accounted for most of the savings. As a result of the budget savings Kolesar is projecting a yearend surplus of $259,000.

He stated further that the surplus might be as high as $279,000.

The 2011/2012 school year budget will be discussed and voted on at a special meeting to be held June 30, 2011 at 4:30pm. At that meeting the board will also discuss and take action on a “Borrowing Resolution.” The resolution is necessary to carry school districts through the summer. The necessity for the borrowing came into being when the State of Michigan changed its fiscal year leaving school districts in the lurch, so to speak.

The superintendent told the board that State Representative Matt Huuki and State Senator Tom Casperson have worked successfully to have the melded enrollment formula reinstated. The formula helps school districts with declining enrollment. Kolesar the two legislators collaborated with other U.P. Legislators as well as legislators from the northern region of the lower peninsular to have the formula reinstated. The result of the change will provide the IASD $348,000 in additional revenue in the following school year.

While most of the fiscal news was positive, there is one dark cloud hanging over Ayer Street.

There is a possibility that the Norrie School sale and renovation project may fall through. The feet dragging by the City of Ironwood, particularly the Planning and Zoning Commission may have priced the project out of existence.

Bids for the project are now much higher than original estimates, as construction costs have begun to rise. Perhaps, the developer should have put more Granola Bar trees on the site plan; resulting in more attention to the project by the city.
In the expectation that the project may not materialize, the board approved securing bids for the school’s demolition.

While the costs of demolition are not certain, it is likely that the expense will use up $200,000 that would have otherwise been used to benefit the school district and its students.

Polar Bear Cookbook

Thank you to everyone who submitted recipes for the Polar Bear Hockey Cookbook. The cookbooks are now available. The cost for the cookbooks are $10.00 so make sure to grab one for yourself and maybe one or two as a gift. They can be purchased at the Pat O'Donnel Civic Center concession stand or by contacting Kerry Roehm or Micki Sorensen.

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