During Monday’s Duneland school board meeting, tentative dates were scheduled for the upcoming 2013 budget adoption process.

The dates are as follows: Preliminary Review - 2013 Capital Project Funds & Bus Replacement Plans (Tuesday, July 10); Preliminary Review - 2013 Budget (Monday, Aug. 13); Budget Review/Authorization to Advertise (Monday or Tuesday, Aug. 27-28); Public hearing (Monday, Sept. 10); and Budget　Adoption (Monday, Oct. 1).

Board members did not report any schedule conflicts but Duneland Assistant Superintendent Dave Pruis said if the schedule needs to be amended, it would need to be done before the next school board meeting in July.　

Pruis said the final day for budgets – including the funds for capital projects and bus replacement -- to be adopted by a governmental unit is Nov. 1.

Elementary schools in the Duneland school corporation will start the day at 8:00 a.m. as opposed to 8:05 for the 2012-13 school year.

The vote was made by the board after a recommendation made by the Schools Superintendent Dirk Baer who said more time was needed to pick up elementary students after middle school students are dropped off.

The adjustment was made because the corporation was unable to receive $369,000 in additional funds from the state for four additional conventional sized buses, Pruis said. The buses would have provided the needed transportation and school officials will need to make changes to the plans regarding shuttle buses.

On another note, the school’s were allotted $586,170 in its bus replacement fund to purchase four 66-passenger conventional buses along with a special needs 48-passanger bus and a type A bus which will carry 27 passengers. Bids were submitted and taken through the Central Indiana Education Service Center. The purchased vehicles will come from Midwest Transit Equipment which was the lowest bidder.

In other budgetary matters Monday, the board approved a measure mandated by the Indiana Department of Education to increase the price of school lunches. Duneland Schools will charge 10 cents more for all lunches than in the school year just ended.

For elementary and intermediate students, a school lunch will cost $2.25 during the 2012-13 school year. Grades 7-12 will be charged $2.45 per lunch and adults will be charged $3.10.

Posted 6/12/2012