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Franklin County Community School Corporation board meeting, date not confirmed yet

1 h 37 min

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Franklin County trustees vote 4 in favor, 2 abstaining, on 2027 budget and resolutions 1:17:55

  • The meeting opened with recognitions of business partners and staff and a presentation by middle school digital media students. 7:21
  • The board also voted 6⁠-⁠0 on a Washington, D.C., field trip and on extracurricular personnel. 1:01:44
  • Before that vote, a motion by Kim Simonson to separate the capital projects plan from the other budget resolutions did not pass, 2 to 4. 1:07:31
  • The Franklin County Community School Corporation board voted on the 2027 budget adoption and related resolutions, with a tally of 4 in favor and 2 abstentions. 1:17:55

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (15)
  1. Opening and agenda change 4:43
    • A staff member asked the board to add the 2027 budget adoption and related resolutions as item C under new business, saying it did not make the agenda on time. 5:28
    • The staff member said the item related to the hearing held last month and involved no changes. 5:28
    • The vote to add the item was 6⁠-⁠0. 6:36
  2. Celebrations and recognitions 6:44
    • A staff member recognized FCN and Sycamore Gas as Wildcat Legend Partners, the highest level of the district's business partner program, and said contributions support behavioral and academic interventions. 7:21
    • The district recognized a Support Staff of the Month with 12 years in the district and an Educator of the Month, a 1st grade teacher at Brookville Elementary School. 11:00
    • Eighth grade digital media students presented the middle school news program, which a teacher said is published on Tuesdays and Thursdays with plans to expand after fall break. 21:30
  3. Public comment on the budget 36:43
    • A speaker at public comment questioned the debt service request on the budget's Form 3, saying the budgeted $5.94 million would rise to a maximum levy of $8.047 million, a 42% increase. 37:37
    • The speaker said by the speaker's own calculation the debt service rate would be approximately 0. 675 and asked the board to review the request. 39:47
    • The presiding officer said the district works with multiple financial advisors and counsel and offered to discuss the matter further offline. 42:38
  4. Meeting minutes 43:13
    • The minutes were pulled for a separate vote because two members had not been present at the last meeting. 43:13
    • Abstentions were noted on the vote to approve the minutes. 44:00
  5. Expenditures, resignations and position changes 44:22
    • The board considered expenditures, resignations and internal position changes as one consent item. 44:22
    • The vote was 6⁠-⁠0. 44:59
  6. New hires 45:03
    • A staff member read a list of new hires including paraprofessionals, custodians and substitute teachers. 45:07
    • The staff member said the staff member took over the substitute hiring process about a year and a half ago and interviews each candidate. 46:04
  7. Extracurricular personnel 46:26
    • A staff member read a list of coaches, sponsors, department chairs and dual credit teachers, saying the roles are part of the teacher contract. 46:30
    • A speaker clarified that the positions are paid unless the word volunteer appears. 51:28
    • The vote was 6⁠-⁠0. 51:56
  8. Grants and donations 51:59
    • A teacher requested permission to accept a grant of $500 from Sycamore Gas to support the FCHS boys basketball program. 52:04
  9. Washington, D.C. field trip 52:44
    • Organizers requested approval for a Washington, D.C., trip leaving Wednesday, March 22nd, 2028, and returning Saturday, March 25th, 2028, the week before spring break. 52:47
    • Kim Simonson asked about students who cannot afford the trip, and an organizer described fundraisers and scholarships from community members. 57:06
    • An organizer said students who sign up within the first 2 or 3 weeks receive $50 off the trip. 1:00:36
    • The vote was 6⁠-⁠0. 1:01:44
  10. Financial reports 1:01:55
    • A staff member reported the education fund balance as of August 31st, '26 was $5,118,695.60, compared with $6,951,029.77 a year earlier. 1:02:00
    • The cafeteria fund balance was $125,950.03, compared with $5,156.14 a year earlier. 1:03:01
    • Asked about the cafeteria change, a staff member said it reflected reimbursements coming in and a late Chartwells bill, with a clearer picture expected by November or December. 1:03:32
  11. Snow plowing and ice removal 1:04:16
    • A staff member said 4 proposals were received for snow and ice removal and the superintendent recommended that the contracts be split. 1:04:23
    • The staff member said the contractors were also the lowest bidders. 1:05:20
  12. Board policy updates 1:05:26
    • A staff member presented policy updates, volume 38, number 2, for reading only, with approval to come next month. 1:05:40
    • Kim Simonson asked whether changes to items including 3139 and 4220 affected teacher contracts, and a staff member said the changes were verbiage. 1:06:19
  13. Motion to separate capital projects plan 1:07:17
    • One board member asked to take the capital projects piece out of the budget resolutions. 1:07:31
    • A speaker asked whether there was a legal reason to separate it after the public hearings, and one board member said they did not want that vote to affect the other pieces. 1:08:20
    • The motion to separate the item did not pass, and it was kept as one Item C. 1:10:56
  14. 2027 budget adoption and resolutions 1:11:07
    • A staff member presented a proposed 2027 budget totaling $35,175,820, including a debt service fund of $7,075,820, and a proposed total property tax levy of $15,154,000. 1:11:10
    • The resolutions included capital project and school bus replacement plans and authorization to transfer up to $1 million from the education fund to the operations fund in '27. 1:11:59
    • A staff member said the district has transferred $1,046,000 in '21, $1,025,600 in '23 and $1 million in '26, and that the capital projects plan does not limit what the district can do. 1:15:55
    • The count was 4, with 2 abstentions. 1:18:36
  15. Committee reports 1:18:46
    • A speaker raised concerns about bus drivers nearing the end of their careers and said the district needs a recruitment plan. 1:20:44
    • A staff member said the district is absorbing 5 routes without full staffing and needs people slotted by January or February. 1:21:49
    • A speaker reported on sessions attended at the ISBA fall conference in Indianapolis. 1:28:12

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Who spoke

Who spoke

We can’t yet tell who is speaking at this board’s meetings.

Video: posted by the district as “2026/10/12 FCCSC School Board of Trustees Meeting.”