WBESC board OKs raises, financial audit

Van Wert independent/WBESC information

PAULDING — The Western Buckeye Educational Service Center Governing Board discussed salaries and the agency’s financial audit during its April meeting held Wednesday at the Paulding ESC office.

Because of financial challenges for the agency, Superintendent Brian Gerber, Treasurer Gary Ginter, Assistant Treasurer Linda Clark and Director of Business Paul Clark opted to not take a pay increase for the coming school year.

Certified and non-certified employees, who received no raises for the current school year, were given a 1-percent increase for the coming school year.

“Administration and fiscal staff believed it was the appropriate action to take in order to cut costs and save some money by waiving their pay increase,” Gerber said, adding that it was also felt that certified and non-certified staff deserved an increase, since those staff members did not receive an increase this school year.

“The WBESC staff members working in the trenches are doing a tremendous job for our partner schools,” Gerber noted. “They are dedicated, hard-working people who seldom complain about anything.”

The WBESC superintendent said he and his staff are working hard to keep costs down.

“Over the past year, we have taken several steps towards the goal of operating as lean as possible,” Gerber told the board. “We sold the Van Wert office building as a means to offset the 32-percent funding cut we have experienced since 2007.”

While the superintendent admitted that the revenue generated by the cuts would not completely offset the spending decreases, they would help significantly.

Gerber said the WBESC also decreased service fees in 2005 and hasn’t raised them since that time. The agency has also absorbed a financial position, eliminated two other positions, and would continue to look at ways to operate as lean and efficiently as possible.

On a more positive financial note, Gerber stated that the WBESC received the Auditor of State Award for having a “clean” audit report that included no findings for recovery, material citations, material weaknesses, significant deficiencies, single audit findings or questioned costs.

“I am very happy for our fiscal people,” Gerber said. “Gary Ginter and Linda Clark work very hard to make sure all the I’s are dotted and all the T’s are crossed. They take great pride in their work and function very well as a team.”

Board President William Poe II and other board members commended the administrative team for the proactive steps it is taking to operate a very efficient and lean operation.

In other action, the WBESC board:

• Extended the following non-teaching contracts, effective the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year: Jeana Fisher, physical therapy assistant, two-year limited; and Nicole Jefferson, occupational therapy assistant, two-year limited contract.
• Extended a one-year contract to Harry Florence as an intervention specialist.
• Established the week of May 7-11 as Staff Appreciation Week.
• Approved a resolution for Antwerp Local Schools, Paulding Exempted Village Schools, Wayne Trace Local Schools and Van Wert City Schools to align with the Western Buckeye Educational Service Center, as required by state law, effective July 1.
• Approved five days for Matt Krites for technology services.
• Authorized out-of-state travel for Paula Lugibihl and Marge Greve to attend a training session on April 11.
• Approved a motion to hire the Auditor of State’s Office, Local Government Services, to perform an annual auditor for the 2011-2012 school year at a cost not to exceed $5,000.
• Approved a number of items for the Northwest Ohio Area Computer Services Cooperative.

The next meeting of the WBESC Governing Board will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, at the Van Wert ESC office located at Thomas Edison Center in Van Wert.