Schools

D99 School Board Adopts 2010-11 Budget

No residents on hand for public hearing before vote.

The Community High School District 99 school board approved a $73.8 million budget for the 2010-11 school year.

The board adopted the budget, which represents a 1.3 percent decline from 2009-10, after a Sept. 20 public hearing.

Controller Mark Staehlin called the budget the "one of the toughest ones I've ever done because there's so much uncertainty."

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Faced with a continuing 40 percent reduction in state funding that may or may not materialize, Staehlin said his office planned for the worst-case situation.

As for the property tax revenue that accounts for 85 percent of the district's income, Staehlin's projected continued low Consumer Price Index and new construction rates, both of which have a budget impact of $65,000 for every 0.1 percent change.

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He expects the CPI-U for 2010 to increase a mere one percent and the new construction rate to rise by only 0.8 percent.

Interest rates are also expected to remain anemic, with the average investment rate for the district's portfolio at less than one percent and operating fund revenue from investments budgeted at $220,000. Staehlin told the board he expects interest rates to remain low for the next four or five years.

On the expense side, the biggest impact–nearly 48.32 million–comes from salaries, which account for more than 65 percent of district spending. That number reflects a 2.3 percent reduction from 2009-10 levels due to a large number of retirements last year, Staehlin said. Senior staffers can earn considerably more than their less-experienced replacements.

Medical benefit costs, however, are budgeted at an 8.1 percent increase for 2010-11, reflecting the anticipated inflationary trend. Every one percent in medical benefits costs is equal to about $44,000, he said.

In closing, Staehlin recommended that the board take a fresh look at student enrollment projections, which were last developed almost five years ago.

Even small shifts in enrollment can have a significant budget impact, he told the board. The addition of 22 kids to the district translates into another teacher at about $50,000 per year.

District 99 earlier increased its student-teacher ratio from 21.5 to 22 for the 2010-11 school year.

 


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