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One board member opposes OPEB levy CROSBY-IRONTON SCHOOL BOARD Staff Writer CROSBY - The state Legislature in May authorized school districts, along with other local units of government, to place its Other Post Employment Benefits, or OPEB, onto the districts' annual levies.
While this may mean good news for the Crosby-Ironton School District, or perhaps an extra $400,000 a year, one board member Monday voiced his opposition to the possibility of authorizing a non-voter-approved bond levy increase.
On a four to one vote, with board member Mike Domin opposed, the board authorized the sale of bonds for actuarially determined OPEB liabilities. Board members Scott Kile, Barb Neprud, Bob Sandin and Maurice Slepica voted in favor of the resolution. Board members Trista Rice was not in attendance at Monday's meeting.
"I don't know if it's such a bad thing but I don't know if it's such a good thing either," said Domin. "I've looked at this thing back and forth and I think yes, the district needs the money. But I think we're going to do nothing but open old wounds with this."
Domin was referring to the two-month-long C-I teachers' strike. He told board members he was "shellacked" by constituents about this OPEB issue over the weekend.
One of the main sticking points in settling the strike was about the teacher retiree benefits the district had been paying and the board was attempting to do away with. The two sides ended the strike after agreeing to start a Versatile Employee Benefit Alternative account, or VEBA, a tax-free health savings account for then-current teachers when they retire. The district was responsible for contributing $4,875,000 to the account from 2005-2019. From 2009-2019, the district has about $4 million left to pay into this VEBA account. By levying local taxpayers for its OPEB liability, this would eliminate VEBA as a district expenditure and free up those funds for other areas of the budget.
OPEB liabilities mostly apply to school districts and involve postemployment benefits provided outside of a pension plan. The Government Accounting Standard Board is now requiring that these promised benefits be stated as a liability in school districts' financial statements and backed through a bond levy, according to the Minnesota State Auditor's Office. If districts don't make the change, the districts would be considered noncompliant during the next audit cycle, according to a letter from state auditor Patricia Anderson to the Minnesota School Boards Association in June.
While seasonal recreational property owners are exempt from paying voter-approved operating levies, they are not exempt from paying bond levies.
At last week's special board meeting, Skjeveland said for a $100,000 property, this new OPEB levy would mean a tax increase of about $2 a month, or $24 a year.
Board member Maurice Slepica said he understood Domin's concern, but he said in his mind he keeps returning to the notion that it is no longer business as usual in this district, that the district is now in a survival mode. Slepica noted that other units of government, like Crow Wing County, are authorized to pass levies without voter-approval.
"This is like working for the county," said Slepica.
The board last week hired Van Iwaarden Associates to conduct actuarial services for the district. An actuarial study will take about one to two months. Superintendent Jamie Skjeveland said a formal resolution containing the amount of the bonds issued and where the bond proceeds will be held will come before the board at the September or October board meeting.
In other board action, the district authorized an agreement for school nursing services with the Crow Wing County Health Department. The district advertised for a school nurse opening this summer but was unable to hire one. So the district opted for a one-year pilot project of hiring a full-time nurse through the county health department who will split time between both school buildings. The district earlier rehired two part-time health paraprofessionals who also will work in both buildings to ensure the medical needs of students were being met.
The board approved the following coaching and activities contracts: Brianna Wynn, assistant volleyball coach; Becky Zender, ninth-grade volleyball coach; Wayne Ellingsen, junior high and senior high vocal music; Scott Ruffing, elementary vocal music and elementary choir; and Rich Aulie, elementary and high school band performances.
The board hired Curt Brown as a secondary special education teacher and Molly Matthews as an Early Childhood Family Education teacher.
The next regular board meeting will be 7 p.m. Sept. 29.
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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