Russell Allen

Russ Allen of the Greater Albany Public Schools explains: "Charter schools receive a minimum of 80 percent of the amount of the funding for students in grades K-8, or 95 percent of the amount of the funding for students in grades 9-12.

When PERS announces its advisory rate later this month - which takes effect in July 2011 - Greater Albany public Schools is anticipating a rate of at least 18 percent of payroll, up from 10.2 percent this July, said Russell Allen, the district's director of business.

The rate could change, Allen said, because the actual 2011 rate will be based on fund returns received this year and last year. But those returns would have to be at least 26 percent this year to prompt a reduction in the expected rate, he said. Returns through August were closer to 9 percent.

Bottom line, Allen said: Albany likely will be obligated to pay another $3 million annually to PERS starting two years from now, on top of any other budgeted increases.

The current rate is down from 13.5 percent in 2007, Allen said, saving Albany approximately $1.2 million per year. However, the district chose to use the savings to offset other budget increases and prevent further budget reductions this year.

Allen said he plans to provide a full report to the Albany School Board in November, following the announcement of the advisory rate.

The Lochner site is under BPA power lines, contains wetlands and is not experiencing the same kind of growth as the northeast part of town, so it is "not considered now to be an ideal site for a school site," said Russell Allen, the district's business director.

Having the city manage the pool is beneficial because it already has an aquatics program and could include the district's pool staff on its own roster, said Russell Allen, the school district's director of business.

It would eliminate service duplication, he said, and make sense from a business standpoint because the city is providing the money.

Russ Allen, school district business manager, said that for non-curricular activities such as this, the district charges schools $1 per mile plus $20 an hour per bus.

For three buses over two hours, the charge would come to $120, plus a few dollars for the mileage.The school district will bill the school's activities account for the amount, Allen explained.

The contract is for $39,959, to handle technical audits that need to come before design and construction, said Russell Allen, the school district's director of business.Future contracts are expected to be signed as work progresses.

The estimated total cost of the projects is $3 million.The work will be paid for through savings from reduced energy use, business energy tax credits, and state grants for energy savings.

The district will need to provide some money for work up front before these dollars are received, Allen said.Borrowing is one possibility, he said.

Russell Allen Director of Business and Operations russ allen@albany.k12.or.us

"Special education has been squeezing out dollars from the general education program," said Russell Allen, the business director for the Greater Albany School District, where the cost of special education has grown at four times the pace of the rest of the district's budget.