Lakeland School System gets initial 3-month budget

By CAROLYN BAHM
Express Editor

The Lakeland school board approved a $62,000 three-month start-up budget at Monday’s meeting.

The start-up funding for January through March came from $100,000 allocated by the city of Lakeland. Using those funds, Supt. Ted Horrell proposed an initial budget with these categories: wages and benefits for the district’s first few permanent employees, temporary part-time wages (primarily for clerical help), technology (at minimum a laptop and perhaps a printer for the superintendent), office supplies, travel expenses for the board and superintendent, professional memberships, contracted services (such as human resources software or consulting services), and website implementation.

See the budget in chart format at the bottom of this article.

Horrell said he expects to have a lean office staff and does not anticipate Lakeland’s small school district needing a full-time dedicated human resources director. One of the district’s first software purchases will be for a system that helps to automate the gathering and organization of hiring information from prospective employees.

The board unanimously approved the start-up budget, and Horrell said, “If only the big budget were going to be that easy.”

The board also:

• Accepted the city’s offer of underutilized space at Lakeland City Hall for the new school district’s central office.
• Approved development of Lakeland School System logo and branding.
• Voted for the board and superintendent to attend an annual legislative breakfast in Nashville on Feb. 18. The Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) hosts the event, known as the “Day on the Hill,” as a forum for school board members, superintendents and state legislators to discuss pending legislation and public education.
• Approved paying for membership in the Association of Independent and Municipal Schools (AIMS) and Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS).
• Approved Horrell’s request for travel funds to attend Tennessee’s Beginning Superintendent Academy on Jan. 15-16.
• Agreed on the development of a school district website at lakelandk12.org.
• Agreed to postpone attending the National School Board Association (NSBA) annual convention during the district’s first year, due to the cost ($945 per attendee for the event alone, not including rooms, meals, and travel).

January-March 2014 Budget

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