Hancock Forecasts Improved Fiscal End

WOODLAWN - While the final numbers will not be known until later this week, Superintendent Dr. Kevin Hancock told the Woodlawn School Board Monday night that the district will finish the fiscal year in better shape than it did last year.Hancock told the board during its regular monthly meeting Monday night the next fiscal cycle officially begins this Friday, and that the 2024-25 fiscal year will officially come to a close on Thursday. He said that will be when they will know the final numbers.“We have really made a big improvement from last year,” Hancock told the board without giving specific numbers.Hancock told the board he was calling a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18, to finalize the budget numbers as well as address the hiring of a new construction manager (see story in this issue). Meanwhile, Tony Holderfield, the district’s maintenance manager, gave the board a presentation of a new software called Operations Hero that is used by staff to make work order requests as well as document all the maintenance work completed on campus.Holderfield said he intends to use the software will help maintenance and technical personnel document any work on campus related to preventative maintenance, work orders, technology issues or transportation maintenance.Not only will each entry document the work performed, it will also include any costs for parts as well as how much time was spent doing it. Holderfield said that information will be valuable in identifying problems areas and alerting the district when a piece of equipment may need to be replaced.As of Monday night’s meeting,the software showed that about 80 percent of the preventative maintenance had been completed on campus. Holderfield said his goal is to increase that to a consistent 95 percent.Academic ReportWoodlawn Elementary Principal Zach Meyer told the board the district will save about $10,000 to $12,00...