Sometimes getting started in a job can be rough.
During her first week as superintendent of Humboldt District 258, Amber Wheeler had to deal with what she described as “our lovely fire on the board [office] roof.”
“We believe it will officially be listed as an undetermined cause. Best guess is a firework landed on it just right,” she said.
Thankfully for the district, “our insurance has been amazing,” Wheeler said. An adjuster was on-scene to assess the situation the following day.
Wheeler and others were especially grateful for the district’s custodians and the local fire department. Damage was limited to them breaking a window.
“We got very lucky,” Wheeler said, especially since all the electronic equipment in the board office is still functioning normally.
“Nobody wants to say they had a fire on the first week of a new job,” she laughed, but agreed that if it had to happen, it was ultimately a “best case scenario.”
The board thus discussed making a donation to the fire department in thanks for all their work.
ADDITIONALLY, Wheeler talked with the board about the need for exceeding the Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR), a topic being considered by institutions across the state following enactment of a new law.
According to Wheeler, “basically what happens is, if your [county’s] valuation goes up, the mill levy to raise the same amount of taxes goes down.”
And indeed, Allen County’s assessed valuation has recently raised about $6 million.
Wheeler continued, saying, “the problem is, by law, we are required to levy 20 mills on our general fund,” that is, the district will de facto exceed the RNR.
And furthermore, “if you vote to exceed the RNR, you have to let the county clerk know.”
Hence, the board went ahead and voted to notify the county clerk they would indeed exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate.
IN OTHER NEWS, the board approved member Tony Works’ request to house an Italian exchange student in the forthcoming academic year.
