During the Nov. 12 meeting of the Callaway school board, a resolution was unanimously approved to allow the school to open a line of credit at Nebraska State Bank. The move had some district patrons, including Duane Kimball, questioning why a line of credit was necessary. Superintendent JD Furrow explained.

“We took $1 million of funds that you use to have access to and locked them into investments. As a result, we are going to make between $30,000 and $40,000 per year in interest income that we weren’t getting before,” Furrow shared. “We trimmed our fat and are running much leaner, and in the lean times of the taxing season, there is a good chance that we might drop below in our general fund. So we took out the line of credit so if we ever overdraw in our general fund the line of credit just kicks in so all of our bills are covered. Then as soon as the taxes roll in we just pay that line of credit off. We might have to pay $400 or $500 dollars in interest, but in that same month we might be getting $3,000 in interest from our investments. Financially it’s the right move for our school.”

Another item of interest on the agenda was discussion of a drug testing policy in the district. At a previous meeting, the board had requested that Furrow investigate a school random drug testing program. Furrow shared that he had discussed the issue with school attorney Justin Knight, who told him that only students who are involved in activities can be randomly tested. “We had a parent who had asked me in a phone conversation if we had a drug testing program at the school so I told them I would do some checking. I asked the board if this was something they wanted me to pursue,” Furrow explained. Furrow said nothing would be done before next school year. Finally, Elementary Principal Brittany Jesseph’s contract was amended to update her duties. Her contract will now reflect her duties as follows: PK-6 Principal 0.50 FTE, Learning Coordinator 0.25 FTE, and SPED Director 0.25 FTE. This will not affect her salary at this point.

“We are trying to create a more unified SPED program in our school. We have three different SPED teachers and I wanted to make it more cohesive,” Furrow said. “By realigning her pay structure we can turn that 25% of her salary and benefits in for reimbursement through SPED funds.”

The next meeting of the Callaway Board of Education will be Dec. 9 at 7 p.m.