The final public hearing for the 2016-2017 school board budget was held on 09/13/16. Kendra Sittig, Director of Budget, and Joyce McIntyre, Director of Finance and Purchasing presented the proposed final millage rates and budget to the school board.
Millage rates are percentages assessed by the county property appraiser based on the value of the home/property. The State has a minimum rate that must be set aside for education, called the Required Local Effort (RLE), which is 4.621 for 2016. In order to receive state funding for the district, this RLE must be in place. There is an additional amount added to the RLE, for a total of 6.869. This year’s proposed revenues are projected to be approximately $1.3 million less than last year.
The budget is separated into several categories: General Fund, Food Service Fund, Special Revenue Fund, Debt Service, and Capital Projects.
Daily operations and salaries are paid from the General Fund, which makes up the largest portion (83%) of the total budget. State allocations and local property taxes provide the income for this fund. Capital Fund transfers will pay for maintenance needs. Sittig noted that salary increases for all employees are included in this year’s budget.
The district also pays down its debt. Some of the debt is from capital projects the district did not have funds on hand to pay for, so money was borrowed. The debt was refinanced in 2016, and because money was appropriated previously to pay debt, no repayment is needed for 2016-2017. Also, due to the ½-cent sales tax, the district is able to have money available in the Capital Projects Fund.
The 2016-2017 budget reflects the $3.7 million expected to come in from the additional ½-cent sales tax. As McIntyre mentioned, strict guidelines are in place for these monies. She thanked residents for passing the sales tax amendment, which will allow the district to pay for site improvements, equipment, and building repairs.
Special Revenue Funds, which includes federal programs like Title I and IDEA, is approximately $51,000 less than last year. Sittig stated this is expected to increase when grants become available later in the year.
Food Service Funds are self-sustaining, with revenues generated through food sales to students, as well as federal reimbursement for student meals, UDSA commodities, matching state funds, and through providing services to other agencies. While meal prices will remain the same for 2016-2017, they are expected to increase for 2017-2018.
Sitting stated the total proposed budget for these funds is $257,70,510, which is $10,613,180 less than the 2015-2016 school year. During his review of the budget, board member Gus Guadagnino discovered that the ESE funding is less than it was five years ago. Sittig stated she will attempt to get an answer for him. The school board voted 5-0 to approved the 2016-2017 budget.