WCS Holds Public Hearing On 2015 Proposed Budget
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
No members of the public were present.
The school corporation’s proposed 2015 budget for all funds is $73,449,672. The 2014 budget was adopted at $71,022,013.
Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott reviewed the budget for the school board during Friday’s meeting.
The budget was submitted to the Kosciusko County Council for a non-binding review. The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance works over all budgets for taxing units in the state and will set the final tax rates, Scott explained.
The budget was advertised in the Times-Union Aug. 26 and Sept. 2. A budget study session was held by the board Aug. 19, and Scott asked permission from the board at the Aug. 25 meeting to advertise it. Scott said he will ask the board to approve the 2015 budget during its Sept. 23 meeting.
Scott reviewed his process for developing next year’s budget and explained the funds that make up the total budget.
Money from the general fund comes from the state basic grant and not from a local property tax rate. For WCS, the general fund proposed total for 2015 is $50,391,212.
Components of the state basic grant include tuition, honors, special education, vocational, the complexity index and full-day kindergarten funding.
The funding cycle has changed significantly, Scott said, so that schools now get a varying amount each month. The swings are larger than in past years, he said.
Funding per student is only going up four-tenths of 1 percent next year, Scott said. For fiscal year 2013-14, WCS received $4,569 per student. The amount for 2014-15 will be $4,587.
“The only growth in revenue we’ll see is if we continue to attract students,” Scott said.
For this school year, the student enrollment rate is looking flat compared to last year, he said. School districts around Warsaw are continuing to shrink.
The free and/or reduced lunch population continues to grow. Before the recession hit in 2008, Scott said the free/reduced lunch population was 34.98 percent in 2005. In 2009, that increased to 48.28 percent. This year, it’s at 50.68 percent.
The capital projects fund for 2015 is proposed at $8,136,370.
Scott said technology is a big component of the CPF. “This number is about 50 percent for a lot of districts and for us,” he said.
The CPF also includes dollars for facility repairs and improvements, some utility costs, pension neutrality and the Guaranteed Energy Savings debt payment. The debt payment will be roughly $365,000 next year, Scott said, and stems from when WCS replaced all the lighting at the high school, made improvements to the pool area and other work a number of years ago.
The transportation fund is proposed at $3,708,787. It is a levy capped fund. Growth is capped at 5 percent, but Scott said he’s never seen more than 3 percent. For 2015, it’s at 2.7 percent.
The big thing he’s worried about for the fund for next year is national healthcare. He said there could be a significant hit to the transportation fund because it’s difficult to keep bus drivers under 30 hours per week since WCS runs bus routes twice.
The bus replacement fund is proposed at $755,749. It’s funded locally, on a 12-year cycle and the DLGF determines the cap.
“Frankly, it’s not enough money for us,” Scott said.
Warsaw plans to replace six conventional buses and one lift bus in 2015, but won’t have enough money in the fund for that unless its appeal is approved.
“We will have to decide if we want to delay the purchase or dip into the rainy day fund. That will be a discussion that comes,” he said.
No new debt for the debt service fund is planned for 2015, Scott said. It’s proposed at $8,614,667 for next year. It’s a need-based fund that reflects payments for construction borrowing, he said.
The pension debt fund is proposed at $542,887. It’s also a need-based fund that reflects payments for the 2002 retirement buyout that used to be in the teachers master contract, Scott said. The last payment will be in June 2019.
The last of the seven funds is rainy day, proposed for next year at $1.3 million. Scott said the fund assists efforts to bridge funding shortfalls. It can help avoid mid-year staff reductions, deal with the impact of the Affordable Care Act and ease pressure on the transportation and bus replacement funds.
“Ultimately, it provides flexibility,” Scott said.
He concluded by saying the budget is figured conservatively every year, but the school corporation needs to begin contingency planning.
Board member Jay Baumgartner asked how the budget will affect people’s taxes.
Scott responded that the tax rate will likely end up between $0.85 and $0.90 per $100. This will have little impact on individual taxes, he said.[[In-content Ad]]
No members of the public were present.
The school corporation’s proposed 2015 budget for all funds is $73,449,672. The 2014 budget was adopted at $71,022,013.
Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott reviewed the budget for the school board during Friday’s meeting.
The budget was submitted to the Kosciusko County Council for a non-binding review. The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance works over all budgets for taxing units in the state and will set the final tax rates, Scott explained.
The budget was advertised in the Times-Union Aug. 26 and Sept. 2. A budget study session was held by the board Aug. 19, and Scott asked permission from the board at the Aug. 25 meeting to advertise it. Scott said he will ask the board to approve the 2015 budget during its Sept. 23 meeting.
Scott reviewed his process for developing next year’s budget and explained the funds that make up the total budget.
Money from the general fund comes from the state basic grant and not from a local property tax rate. For WCS, the general fund proposed total for 2015 is $50,391,212.
Components of the state basic grant include tuition, honors, special education, vocational, the complexity index and full-day kindergarten funding.
The funding cycle has changed significantly, Scott said, so that schools now get a varying amount each month. The swings are larger than in past years, he said.
Funding per student is only going up four-tenths of 1 percent next year, Scott said. For fiscal year 2013-14, WCS received $4,569 per student. The amount for 2014-15 will be $4,587.
“The only growth in revenue we’ll see is if we continue to attract students,” Scott said.
For this school year, the student enrollment rate is looking flat compared to last year, he said. School districts around Warsaw are continuing to shrink.
The free and/or reduced lunch population continues to grow. Before the recession hit in 2008, Scott said the free/reduced lunch population was 34.98 percent in 2005. In 2009, that increased to 48.28 percent. This year, it’s at 50.68 percent.
The capital projects fund for 2015 is proposed at $8,136,370.
Scott said technology is a big component of the CPF. “This number is about 50 percent for a lot of districts and for us,” he said.
The CPF also includes dollars for facility repairs and improvements, some utility costs, pension neutrality and the Guaranteed Energy Savings debt payment. The debt payment will be roughly $365,000 next year, Scott said, and stems from when WCS replaced all the lighting at the high school, made improvements to the pool area and other work a number of years ago.
The transportation fund is proposed at $3,708,787. It is a levy capped fund. Growth is capped at 5 percent, but Scott said he’s never seen more than 3 percent. For 2015, it’s at 2.7 percent.
The big thing he’s worried about for the fund for next year is national healthcare. He said there could be a significant hit to the transportation fund because it’s difficult to keep bus drivers under 30 hours per week since WCS runs bus routes twice.
The bus replacement fund is proposed at $755,749. It’s funded locally, on a 12-year cycle and the DLGF determines the cap.
“Frankly, it’s not enough money for us,” Scott said.
Warsaw plans to replace six conventional buses and one lift bus in 2015, but won’t have enough money in the fund for that unless its appeal is approved.
“We will have to decide if we want to delay the purchase or dip into the rainy day fund. That will be a discussion that comes,” he said.
No new debt for the debt service fund is planned for 2015, Scott said. It’s proposed at $8,614,667 for next year. It’s a need-based fund that reflects payments for construction borrowing, he said.
The pension debt fund is proposed at $542,887. It’s also a need-based fund that reflects payments for the 2002 retirement buyout that used to be in the teachers master contract, Scott said. The last payment will be in June 2019.
The last of the seven funds is rainy day, proposed for next year at $1.3 million. Scott said the fund assists efforts to bridge funding shortfalls. It can help avoid mid-year staff reductions, deal with the impact of the Affordable Care Act and ease pressure on the transportation and bus replacement funds.
“Ultimately, it provides flexibility,” Scott said.
He concluded by saying the budget is figured conservatively every year, but the school corporation needs to begin contingency planning.
Board member Jay Baumgartner asked how the budget will affect people’s taxes.
Scott responded that the tax rate will likely end up between $0.85 and $0.90 per $100. This will have little impact on individual taxes, he said.[[In-content Ad]]
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