Superintendent warns of food-service shortfall, seeks roughly $350,000 to fix district pool liner

Superintendent (speaker 2) told the South Summit Board of Education on May 11 that the district faces mounting cost pressures and will need to shift funds and make targeted cuts to balance next year's budget.

"As required by statute, I'm required to give you kind of my initial assessment of the budget, before the budget hearing next week," the superintendent said, calling his remarks unofficial and subject to final property-tax figures expected in June. He said the district expects roughly $502,000 in additional revenue next year from legislative allocations and local growth but faces large recurring costs, including approximately $270,000 for step-and-lane increases and roughly $200,000 per 1 percent in salary adjustments.

The superintendent warned the district's food-service reserve will be exhausted this year and estimated the district will need a $150,000'$200,000 supplement going forward; the board discussed raising some lunch prices to help close that gap. He also described a proposed internal transfer of maintenance spending from fund 10 to fund 32 to free roughly $1.2 million for immediate needs such as raises and insurance increases.

Most urgently, the superintendent described a failure of the recently renovated pool liner. He said the liner had shrunk and could not hold water after patches, that contractors capable of full replacement are booked into July, and that repair estimates ranged widely. "We've got a cost range of $600,000 to $150,000," he said, adding he would ask the board for about "$350,000-ish" to fix the pool and to ensure a durable repair rather than repeated temporary patches.

Board members pressed on timing and alternatives. One member noted the operational impact on summer swim programs and lessons if repairs were postponed into July; the superintendent said the district has tried patching but the patches are unlikely to hold and that re-filling the pool repeatedly would be wasteful. The board discussed contractor availability and warranties but did not take an immediate vote on funding the repair during the meeting.

Separately, the superintendent reported awarding summer building contracts, including lighting upgrades; he asked for a contingency to cover an overage on a lighting bid (see separate article on capital projects). The board also discussed delaying some projects (he referenced a recommendation not to do tennis courts this year) as part of budget-balancing options.

The board paused for a brief recess and will consider formal budget hearing procedures and any funding requests at upcoming sessions. The superintendent emphasized that exact figures remain subject to final state and property-tax numbers due in June and that his presentation was a preliminary assessment.