Business and Finance Committee
Monday, March 11, 2019
11:30 a.m., Superintendent’s Office
Meeting Minutes

Attendance: Elroy Buckner, Kris Cole, and Mark Mesbergen

1. 457 Plan
Fruitport’s employee retirement consortium, Michigan Retirement Investment Consortium, now allows districts to offer 457 plans. Currently, Fruitport employees are only able to put additional retirement money into a 403b and cannot draw money out of account (without penalty) until age 60. The 457 plan is like the 403b but will allow the employee to draw money out at age 55. There is no cost to the district to offer this benefit for the employees.

2. Special Education Transportation Consortium
Over the past 5 years, Fruitport has been in and out of the MAISD special education transportation consortium depending on whether there was a financial benefit to the district. The calculation for special education transportation is a reimbursement rate based on how much Fruitport spends, along with depreciation of any special education buses and other factors. The only operation difference is where Fruitport reports the special education costs and that determines how the money is flowed to the district. With that all being said, in the upcoming years, it will be better financially if Fruitport is no longer in the MAISD consortium so the district can maximize our special education transportation reimbursement.

Meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by Mark Mesbergen