White County Board approves $607,143 high-performance bonus for buses, vans and $50-per-student school awards

The White County Board of Education on May 7 approved a plan to spend a $607,143 state high-performance bonus on transportation and direct school allocations.

Director Strombarger told the board the district received $607,143 as a one-time bonus and proposed using $336,234 to purchase two school buses, $100,000 to buy five used vans for school transportation, and $180,550 to distribute roughly $50 per enrolled student to each school. He said the payouts would put the district on a proper budgeting cycle for bus purchases and provide schools immediate, visible funds for student-focused projects.

Strombarger described the rationale as twofold: correct an accounting practice that had previously delayed bus purchases into the following fiscal year and return a portion of the one-time money directly to schools to recognize student and staff achievement. "This money was earned by students that took these tests," he said, arguing boards should let principals decide how to spend the school allotments within guardrails to ensure prompt, student-facing uses.

Board members asked for pricing and enrollment clarifications before voting. Director staff cited an enrollment number of 3,567 (down from 3,611 listed in materials), which the director said reduced the $50-per-student total to about $178,350; he estimated up to $9,641 from unassigned fund balance would be needed to reach the proposed total for transportation and school allocations. On pricing for vans he said he had researched comparable used low-mileage vans and expected to remain within the $100,000 estimate.

Mr. McDonald moved to approve "the breakdown of high performance bonus as presented," a motion seconded by Mr. Smith. The motion passed by voice vote; the transcript records aye responses with no roll-call tally recorded.

The board and director agreed to guardrails on school spending so a future bonus – should it recur – still yields meaningful funds for the next cohort. Strombarger emphasized that the allocations are one-time and there is no guarantee the bonus will be repeated.

Next steps: the approved amendments will be formalized as budget amendments and reflected in the district's fiscal documents; the director will return details on vehicle purchases and the final student count prior to expenditure.