Property and casualty insurance costs and the Special Education Assessment paid to Salina USD 305 will increase during the next school year.

That was the announcement made by Superintendent Dale Brungardt Monday during the regular meeting of the USD 327 Ellsworth-Kanopolis-Geneseo School Board at the Ellsworth Junior High School Commons area and via Zoom due to Covid-19 and social distancing.

The district’s property insurance is through Conrade Insurance; however, the company that underwrites that insurance is no longer offering policies in Kansas, which means the district must find another carrier.

Brungardt and board clerk Dina Rankin received two bids, one from EMC Insurance which has a long history of providing school insurance, and a different policy with Conrade Insurance developed through the Kansas Association of School Board’s Risk Management Pool. While EMC’s bid was lower at $115,853 it had higher deductibles — especially for wind and hail claims — than Conrade’s bid of $117,996, an increase of almost $45,000 for the year. After discussion, the board approved insurance through Conrade Insurance.

The special education assessment will increase $55,000 to $470,000. The district is part of the Salina USD 305 cooperative to provide special education services to the district. The assessment covers the teachers and paras USD 305 hires for special ed as well as teaching the students that are transported to Salina for services that can’t be provided in 327’s buildings. The assessment is paid in three installments.

Brungardt expects the district to carry forward $200,000 into the 2020-21 budget year which the assessment will come out of. However, that carry forward amount will end up short $270,000 to cover the entire assessment. School districts cover a big burden of the assessment due to federal and state governments not funding special education as they should.

In other business:

• The switch to K12itc for tech support services was not budgeted in this school year because it was expected the expenses would not start until next year. Brungardt received permission to pay the $35,236.59 out of the contingency fund, which would have little impact on the budget. There is $526,000 in the contingency fund.

• In a move to provide cooperation between the city and the school, the board approved paying for $250-$500 worth of concrete to replace a bridge on the low practice field off of 10th Street. The city has purchased a replacement bridge and will provide the labor needed for the work.

• Since the district switched to OPAA! for the meal program, it has seen a decrease in the amount of funds put into the program to cover shortages.

For school year, 2018-19, revenue was $325,711, expenses were $356,142 with a loss the district covered of $30,431. For 2019-20, revenue was $352,081 while expenses were $364,695 leaving a loss of $12,614. However, it should be noted that due to the Covid-19 pandemic and school closure, the last nine weeks of the year have not been typical.

School meals will rise 10 cents across the board to help cover those expenses:

K-6 new lunch price $3; 7-12 is $3.25 and adult is $4.10; K-6 breakfast price $1.75; 7-12 $1.85; adult $2.25 and extra milk is 40 cents. • An end of the year meeting is

• An end of the year meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. June 22 at the EJSHS PAC and via Zoom.

The next regular meeting of the board is at 7 p.m. July 13.