News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Just three months into the school year and the Putnam County School System has spent half of its $1.2 million maintenance budget.
Deputy Director Tim Martin said this is not due to major unforeseen expenses like a chiller or a boiler failure. He said the budget is simply feeling the pinch of the economy.
“The fact is, every time we go to purchase a maintenance item the price is higher than it was the last time even if it’s just been a few weeks since we last purchased a similar item,” Martin said. “So we’re just experiencing that inflation like everyone else is.”
Martin said this means going forward, the maintenance department is going to turn its focus towards things that break down and potentially forego cosmetic needs like painting. He said that if other things come up, the school board can go back and look at the budget to move funds around.
Martin said this situation will cause the board to look at and evaluate the budgeting process going forward. He said they’ll have to balance inflation rates with tax collections and any other items that come before the school board and the county commission.
“When it comes to maintenance, a lot of that stuff it’s hard for us to say at the beginning of the year that this is exactly what we’re going to spend on throughout the year,” Martin said. “A lot of those decisions just have to be made at the time and we just have to prioritize that with how the budget is going at that moment.”
Martin said they’ve created spreadsheets to forecast potential expenses for the next several years, including large costs like boilers and AC units and smaller costs like paint. He said the goal is to continuously look towards the future in order to effectively communicate with the school board and the county commission.
