Piqua BOE OKs budget, quotes for purchases

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PIQUA — The Piqua Board of Education held their regular monthly meeting on Thursday, Oct. 20 to review the first quarter budget and approve quotes for future purchases.

“We have just finished the first quarter of the fiscal year and it is always good to look back at expenditures,” said Treasurer Jeremie Hittle.

“We expect everything to be at 25% or below. We’re at 25% of our budget as far as salaries are concerned, 24% with retirement and insurance benefits, 20% with purchase services, 30% with supplies — which is normal because we buy supplies for our students at the beginning of the school year. And then the capital outlay is at 42% and again, that is with the renovations going on in our buildings” he said.

Hittle noted, in totality, the district has used 24% of its budget for the fiscal year in the first quarter.

“We are on target and maybe a little under budget at this point,” said Hittle.

Also approved during the treasurer’s agenda were medical insurance agreements and rates for the 2023 calendar year.

“For 2023, our rates went down point 1%. That is half a percent decrease over two years,” said Hittle while noting that people are looking at double digit increases in cost. Hittle also remarked that he expected costs to go up in 2024 as providers look to renegotiate with inflation.

The board approved two quotes for future purchases.

The first quote was for traffic control gates on the south side of the junior high, at the high school where bus fueling and loading takes place, and at Springcreek elementary.

“The last thing we need is cars flying through there. Most of the time, when we are preparing buses and things, we are trying to blockade the road. This will help create a more automated system,” said Superintendent Dwayne Thompson.

The quote is from Silco Fire and Security based out of Grove City. The quote is for a total of $93,898 with $28,000, $27,898, and $38,000 quotes at Springcreek, Piqua Junior High, and Piqua High School respectively. The purchases will be funded through a federal safety grant.

Also approved was a quote for $64,845 from Cardinal Bus Service for a nine-passenger van.

“I have now ordered this bus for the third time,” said Hittle. “We ordered this MPV two years ago. It got cancelled about a year later … the next one got cancelled too. This third one actually has a vin number which means that they have at least produced the chassis.”

Hittle noted the van must be ordered between Nov. 1-3 in order for there to be a chance of the order being fulfilled.

The board also approved:

• Updates to NEOLA Board Policies;

• The personnel agenda, which included hirings and resignations in addition to approval of the substitute teacher lists;

• Disposal of outdated and unusable library books and technology equipment;

• The fifth-grade overnight trip to Glen Helen;

• PHS Varsity Baseball team’s overnight trip to the Space Coast Baseball Training facility.

Donations to the district totaling $26,658 were accepted. Of that, $12,500 came through a Coca-Cola sponsorship and $11,908 came from the city of Piqua to aid in the cost of the new fuel station sharing agreement.

District-wide, parent-teacher conferences are Wednesday, Nov. 2, and Thursday, Nov. 3.

The board adjourned to executive session and no further action was taken.

The next Piqua Board of Education meeting will take place on Thursday, Nov. 17, at 6 p.m. at the BOE central office in Piqua.

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