Lisbon Schools will be joining the Iowa Local Government Risk Pool.
According to their website, IowaLocalGovernmentriskpool.org, the commission was organized as a Chapter 28E program in Fall 2019 by three K-12 public school districts in an effort to provide greater stability to school district budgets by pooling risks.
A local government risk pool is a term used when governmental entities (such as cities, counties, or school districts) join together in a group to collectively reduce costs, increase their buying power, or reduce risks.
Superintendent Autumn Pino said joining the risk pool helps the district move some energy costs from the general fund to the management fund of the school district.
There are currently 139 school districts participating in the risk pool currently.
As well, the risk pool helps to protect school districts from unforeseen issues, like brutally cold winters and natural disasters like derecho that caused price spikes for natural resources in the area.
“It’s a great fiscal option for the district,” Pino said.
Business manager Laurie Maher said that the annual fee for last year compared favorably to what the district had previously paid, and that was a year without a significant weather event that might have spiked costs.
“It’s something as long as we’re looking at the annual comparison to what our usage is like compared to normal costs, we should be okay to continue,” Maher said. “Using the excess management funds we’ve bolstered and getting this cost off of the general fund is beneficial to the district.”
LECC West lease agreement tabled until special meetingA lease agreement between Budget Blinds and Lisbon Schools for the Lisbon Early Child Care Center’s west location has been tabled until an upcoming special meeting as legal representatives review the contract.
Superintendent Autumn Pino said that the discussions between both entities have been really good and that the pause was more to make sure the contracts are done correctly for both parties. A special meeting will be held by the board to approve the contract when the language for the agreement is finalized.
Lisbon Schools joining Iowa Local Government Risk Pool Commission
June 22, 2023
About the Contributor
Nathan Countryman, Editor
Nathan Countryman is the Editor of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun.