JEFFERSON — The Jefferson City Board of Education has voted to suspend matching employee retirement fund contributions.

Previously, the board made a 1.5 percent contribution match for those employees who contributed at least 3 percent of their gross salary to a VALIC account.

VALIC is the school system’s retirement plan provider. The move is expected to save the system about $200,000 for the 2010 fiscal year. According to system staff, the contributions will be reinstated when "financial circumstances allow."

"This is driven strictly by the financial situation that we’re in, want to emphasize that the recommendation is to temporarily suspend contributions," said John Jackson, system superintendent.

"Matching contributions will be reinstated once the economy settles itself."

The vote took place during Thursday’s regularly scheduled meeting in the board room at Jefferson High School. The measure is expected to preserve several staff positions and to not cause the system to require staff members to take unpaid days off.

The contribution suspension comes at a time when the local system — like most others across the state — is trying to contend with state budget cuts.

According to Kim Navas, the system’s financial officer, Jefferson city schools has lost about $884,000 in state funding.

The current budget cuts won’t be the last. Board members also are anticipating losing more state funding in the future. This year, the system received $195,000 from the state as repayment for the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant. Ron Hopkins, the board’s chairman, said the board will no longer receive that funding from the state.

"Homeowners should expect their property taxes to go up by the amount of the tax credit they usually received," Hopkins said. "It isn’t because of a change in millage rates. It’s because the state previously paid that amount for property owners, but they will no longer be paying it."

During the meeting, the group also discussed the system’s current Adequate Yearly Progress status. According to staff reports, preliminary data indicates that the system made AYP for the 2008-09 school year. However, official AYP determinations will not be calculated until September.

The board also amended its medicine policy to allow students to carry medication for self-administration to treat allergic reactions and diabetes. Current policies already addressed self-administration of medication for asthmatic students. Among other things, in order to self-medicate, students must provide a written statement from a doctor outlining instructions for use and confirmation that the student is able to utilize the medication properly.