Medford schools trying to play catch-up on facility needs

Medford Area Public Schools is putting more money toward building maintenance in its new budget, but that may not be enough to avoid the possibility of a maintenance referendum down the line.

At Monday’s school board finance committee meeting, members spoke with district staff members and finance director Audra Brooks about ways to use the projected surplus in the 2023-2024 budget to help the district with long term needs.

Due, in part, to changes in the state budget regarding the funding formula for schools, Medford is currently projecting a $378,445 surplus for the 2023-2024 school year. Like many districts, Medford has been hit with facility needs and rising costs in other areas which have tightened budgets.

Committee members reviewed a recommendation to put an additional $100,000 toward building maintenance projects on the district’s 10-year facility plan.

“A lot of these items we are kicking down the road,” said district administrator Pat Sullivan. He said the district has talked about going to referendum in fall 2024 and asked if it was time for them to seriously talk about referendum to get caught up on all the facility needs. He noted that if the district wanted to go to referendum next fall they would need to work on it sooner rather than later in order to educate the public about the district’s needs. He said he would like to see it brought up in October to look at a referendum for fall of 2024 to address facility concerns. “You can pass it or you can piecemeal like we are doing,” Sullivan said.

The school district also has some other tools in its tool chest. Fund 46, which serves as a facilities savings account has a balance of about $2.5 million which will be able to be tapped beginning in early 2025.

“How are we ever going to get close to catching up,” said committee chairman Brian Hallgren.

Brooks said there are things that they just aren’t getting to.

Committee members voted to put an additional $100,000 to the facility maintenance needs. At the full school board meeting later that night, the full board voted in favor of the change.

In addition, Brooks suggested putting an additional $30,000 to sports, specifically to address officials’ pay. The pay rates for officials are set at the conference level and with an ongoing shortage for referees and officials, there is a challenge to getting them.

Brooks noted the cost increase is out of athletic director Ryan Pilgrim’s control. It was also noted that participation in sports remains among the highest percentage- wise among schools in Medford’s conference with 37% of students out for a fall sport.

“We are at the top with percentages of students out for athletics,” Pilgrim said, noting this is a positive for the district.

Hallgren agreed noting that high participation levels have always been a goal of the district.