WCS Set To Advertise $46 Million 2002 Budget; 4% Above 2001
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
The budget process for Warsaw Community Schools began Monday, with the school board giving business manager Rande Thorpe permission to advertise the proposed $46.268 million budget.
Thorpe described the six funds comprising the school corporation's budget. The general fund is the largest, 74 percent of the total, and includes teachers' salaries, benefits, school utilities and supplies. The general fund is budgeted at $33,948,691 for 2002, an increase of almost 4 percent over last year's budget of $32,649,824.
The capital projects fund pays for building expenses and equipment fees and maintenance, and is budgeted at approximately $4,701,615 million, an increase of 31.29 percent over last year's $3,581,030 million.
The debt service fund, Thorpe said, is similar to a house mortgage in that it is debt incurred in paying for school buildings. That amount is $5,177,613 for 2002, a decrease of 15 percent over 2001's $6,091,527.
Two transportation funds are included: the first, which pays for operational expenses, bus drivers, insurance and vehicle maintenance and service, is budgeted at $1,770,388 for 2002, an increase of 3.65 percent over $1,708,066 last year.
The second transportation fund is for bus replacement costs only, he said, and that total for 2002 is $2,250,388, an increase of 9.63 percent over $2,052,666 in 2001.
The final fund is the preschool fund for disabled students, which would be $190,000, a 26.67 percent increase over the previous $150,000.
Thorpe said all the funds except the general fund receive money from a financial institution tax, excise tax and property taxes. The general fund receives money from the state for ISTEP, interest from invested money, rental income of school property to other groups, funds from the state for summer school and a flat grant from the state.
The 23-page school funding formula, Thorpe said, is a "cobbled up mess, it's a lot of piecemeal solutions" that determines the amount each school corporation will receive. For example, he said, in 2000, the revenue per pupil from the state varied from $4,200 to $6,500.
"Frankly, folks," he said, illustrating the inequity between school districts with pieces of rope, "the only way I can see that the state funding formula works in the state of Indiana is by magic."
"For the general fund, the state tells us what they're gonna send us and how much the local school corporation can raise," Thorpe said. "Right now the general fund formula tells us what our property tax rate will be. We have no say in that."
He also said he has contacted state representatives and state senators in the past, to no avail, and that he thinks the only way to get away from the funding formula is for underfunded schools to band together and sue the state.
School corporations cannot move funds between accounts, he said, but they can move funds between line items in a single fund.
The public meeting to discuss the 2002 budget will be Aug. 20. [[In-content Ad]]
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The budget process for Warsaw Community Schools began Monday, with the school board giving business manager Rande Thorpe permission to advertise the proposed $46.268 million budget.
Thorpe described the six funds comprising the school corporation's budget. The general fund is the largest, 74 percent of the total, and includes teachers' salaries, benefits, school utilities and supplies. The general fund is budgeted at $33,948,691 for 2002, an increase of almost 4 percent over last year's budget of $32,649,824.
The capital projects fund pays for building expenses and equipment fees and maintenance, and is budgeted at approximately $4,701,615 million, an increase of 31.29 percent over last year's $3,581,030 million.
The debt service fund, Thorpe said, is similar to a house mortgage in that it is debt incurred in paying for school buildings. That amount is $5,177,613 for 2002, a decrease of 15 percent over 2001's $6,091,527.
Two transportation funds are included: the first, which pays for operational expenses, bus drivers, insurance and vehicle maintenance and service, is budgeted at $1,770,388 for 2002, an increase of 3.65 percent over $1,708,066 last year.
The second transportation fund is for bus replacement costs only, he said, and that total for 2002 is $2,250,388, an increase of 9.63 percent over $2,052,666 in 2001.
The final fund is the preschool fund for disabled students, which would be $190,000, a 26.67 percent increase over the previous $150,000.
Thorpe said all the funds except the general fund receive money from a financial institution tax, excise tax and property taxes. The general fund receives money from the state for ISTEP, interest from invested money, rental income of school property to other groups, funds from the state for summer school and a flat grant from the state.
The 23-page school funding formula, Thorpe said, is a "cobbled up mess, it's a lot of piecemeal solutions" that determines the amount each school corporation will receive. For example, he said, in 2000, the revenue per pupil from the state varied from $4,200 to $6,500.
"Frankly, folks," he said, illustrating the inequity between school districts with pieces of rope, "the only way I can see that the state funding formula works in the state of Indiana is by magic."
"For the general fund, the state tells us what they're gonna send us and how much the local school corporation can raise," Thorpe said. "Right now the general fund formula tells us what our property tax rate will be. We have no say in that."
He also said he has contacted state representatives and state senators in the past, to no avail, and that he thinks the only way to get away from the funding formula is for underfunded schools to band together and sue the state.
School corporations cannot move funds between accounts, he said, but they can move funds between line items in a single fund.
The public meeting to discuss the 2002 budget will be Aug. 20. [[In-content Ad]]