D58 Expects to Pass Balanced Budget for 2012-2013

From the website:

The District 58 Board of Education recently got its first look at the tentative spending plan for 2012-13. The district’s budget is expected to be in balance, or very close to it, again this year.  

Conservative budgeting, careful monitoring of—and proactive responses to—economic conditions, and continued maintenance of fund balances has put District 58 in a solid financial position.

The 2012-13 tentative budget includes nearly $60 million in normal operating aggregate revenues and just over $60 million in normal operating aggregate expenditures. This does not include the Medical Reserve Fund or the Life Safety Fund. The district is planning to complete $3 million in Life Safety projects this summer using the last of the proceeds from the Life Safety bonds issued in 2010.

“We anticipate that normal operating revenue sources will match or come close to normal operating expenses,” said Controller James Popernik. “It looks as though we will be in good shape again.”

The proposed spending plan for next year reflects the planned continuation of all district programs; the addition of 20 minutes to the school day, with accompanying increases in personnel staffing and transportation costs; increases in facilities maintenance spending; and minor changes where appropriate.

Revenue assumptions include that general state aid will remain level, at $1.2 million; other state aid will increase by $400,000; the property tax receipts related to the 2011 and 2012 levies will increase by 2.6 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively; and the interest rate on investments will decrease slightly, to 0.4 percent.

Although questions remain regarding the state’s budget and potential changes that may negatively impact the district, the district’s fund balances are expected to remain stable.

Expenditure assumptions for 2012-13 include student enrollment remaining flat, at just under 5,000 students; benefits insurance expenses increasing 5 percent; supply/equipment budgets for the schools remaining flat; salaries increasing by 1.5 to 4 percent according to contracts; and out-of-district tuition increasing from $2 million to $2.3 million. The district also is increasing the budget for Operations and Maintenance expenditures from $200,000 to $500,000, for items such as asphalt repair and the launch of a carpet replacement program in the summer of 2013.

The 2012-13 budget calls for slight staffing changes based on program enrollments, service delivery changes and a change in the length of the school day.

“The plan is to maintain the same level of support for our students, restructuring and reallocating staff to best meet student needs,” said Jayne Yudzentis, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel. 

Projects planned for the 2012-13 year include the second half of the cost of the new K-8 math curriculum adoption, as well as staff development related to the math adoption; transition to Common Core standards in math and Language Arts; beginning the reading curriculum revision process; expanding the district’s bandwidth; expanding cloud-based initiatives; a redesign of the district website to facilitate its use as a learning space; an iPad pilot program; and a replacement truck for the Operations and Maintenance Department.

A tentative District 58 budget is scheduled for review and approval on July 9, after which the tentative budget will be put on public display. A public hearing and final budget adoption is scheduled for September 10.