The Greene County School Board met in special session Wednesday night.

Following a public hearing, the Board approved the 2020 fiscal year budget as presented. The overall tax levy rate will be $15.07 per $1,000 of property valuation, which is a $0.13 decrease from the current tax levy rate of $15.20. The Board also approved a 101-percent budget guarantee for property tax adjustment as they are allowed to do so under Iowa Code.

The Board then approved a 2019 fiscal year budget amendment following another public hearing. The amendment was an increase from $7 million to $12 million in the construction line item. It was due to the actual cost of construction to start this fiscal year on the new high school and career academy, due to not knowing the exact cost when the Board certified the budget last April.

Finally, the Board discussed equipment purchases and hiring personnel for the buildings and grounds department. Following the open application period, the Board approved hiring one of the two full-time positions with hiring Jay Springer at an hourly wage of $15.50. A discussion took place of possibly having a Genesis Development employee and a high school student handling the mowing responsibilities for part-time work, but no formal action was taken.

The Board also tabled the decision on equipment purchases for lawn care. Shawn DeMoss with buildings and grounds said he and Robert Stofer will be on limited duty in the near future and felt that they wouldn’t be able to fulfill the requirement of applying chemicals and fertilizers needed for the spring season to all of the fields. The Board directed DeMoss to get bids from contractors to apply the materials. A subcommittee with board members Steve Fisher and John McConnell will meet with the buildings and grounds department to decide on what kinds of lawn care equipment is needed for the long-term before a final decision was made by the Board.