Milbank School Board Approves Rates And Fees For 2017-2018

The Milbank School District Board of Education approved district-wide rates and fees for the 2017-2018 school year during its regular meeting of the board Monday, July 10.

School lunch meal prices were not increased last year. USDA regulations in the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, require the district to raise lunch prices by a minimum of $.05 if the weighted average of meal prices is below $2.85. The board approved an increase of $.10 for all meals including breakfast. Breakfast will be increased to $1.75 for K-12 students and $2.20 for adults. Milk is $.45. Lunch meal prices move to $2.75 for K-5, $3.00 for 6-12, and $3.60 for adults.

Prices for admission or activity tickets for the 2017-2018 school year were not increased. Admission for all activities is $5 for adults and $3 for students. Admission for prom Grand March and Homecoming Coronation is $2. Activity ticket prices will remain at $20 for grades 1-8 and $25 for high school. Adult 10-punch passes are $40 or an adult season pass for $100. The district also offers an annual Golden Age pass for $25 for ages 65 and over.

The cost for school annuals will remain unchanged. A Koch School or middle school annual is $14; a high school yearbook is $35.

The board raised the substitute rates for the 2017-2018 school year. The current substitute rate is $90 per day for non-certified subs and $100 for certified subs. “Sub rates did not increase last year, but were raised $5 each of the previous three years,” explained Superintendent Tim Graf. “We continue to have difficulty finding subs and have been unable to do so at times. We are not sure if continuing to raise the rate will help with supply or not.”

Non-certified subs will be paid $100 per day and certified subs $110. Sub pay increases to 1/180th of the base salary after 10 consecutive days and will be paid retroactively to the first day. The rates for hourly subs and the school nurse sub were also increased. The hourly sub rate will go from $10 per hour to $10.20 per hour, and the per hour sub rate for the school nurse will go from $15 per hour to $17 per hour.

Compensation for school board members was also increased after Graf’s recommendation. He said, “Our board compensation was lower than most in the state a few years ago and, I would assume, we remain slightly lower than the state average.” The board approved an increase of $5, from $65 to $70, for all members, with the exception of the president. The president’s pay was raised from $70 to $75 to account for extra responsibilities and time requirements.