BY STACI WILSON

Pension costs top the list of concerns for Montrose Area school board members who received the 2014-15 audit report at the Monday, Jan. 12, meeting.

The district had about $572,000 of its $1.5 million fund balance committed to retirement as of the audit date of June 30, 2015.

Of that, the district allocated $265,000 to cover pension costs for the 2015-16 school year.

Auditor Paul Murphy Jr. told the board the district would have the ability to cover the cost with the fund balance for only about one more year. After that, he said, the district will need to handle the pension costs in a “different manner.”

But he said, that Montrose Area is in a better position than some districts that have a fund balance of zero but told the board to expect budgeting difficulties to continue over the next several years.

Murphy said accounting procedures changed during the school’s audit, requiring the district’s books to show pension liabilities. He said that could be an issue if the district went to borrow any funds. He said the change spells out “how big the pension issue is.”

The liability – $33 million – is what the state says is now the district’s, Murphy explained. The number reflects the amount employees have earned in pension costs up to June 30, 2015.

Following the workshop meeting, the board held an executive session lasting over an hour to discuss personnel, property acquisition and negotiations.

When the business meeting convened at about 9:50 p.m., the board approved items on the agenda, including the ratification of a three-year collective bargaining agreement for the Montrose Education Support Professionals Association, effective July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2018.

One item was added to the agenda following the executive session.

The board hired Greg Sheer to provide truancy and constable services in the district at a rate of $95 per service for constable and process service work; and a rate of $50 an hour for investigative work.

In the work session, Superintendent Carol Boyce said there are some residency questions that needed to be investigated.