The Bayfield School Board approved a preliminary 2015-16 budget Tuesday evening with $13.8 million in general operations spending. The budget year starts July 1.
The budget projects $13,718,943 in operating revenue, with authorization to spend up to $85,000 from fund balance if needed. If that happens, the budget year in June 2016 would end with a fund balance of around $4.7 million, according to District Finance Director Amy Lyons.
Revenue includes $4.6 million from local taxes and $9 million in state funding.
Lyons reported that the budget shows $190,000 in new funding based on a 2.8 percent inflation increase and enrollment estimated at 1,299 students, the same as 2014-15.
Revenue also includes around $40,000 from the state as buy-down of the "negative factor," per-pupil funding cuts imposed by the state legislature over the past several years from what districts are supposed to get according to the School Finance Act. The state-wide buy-down for 2015-16 is $25 million, Lyons said.
But she stressed that the district's per pupil funding should be $8,559, versus the budgeted $7,520, a gap of $1,039 per student.
That means a total per pupil funding shortfall of around $1.35 million on top of shortfalls for each of the past several years.
"It's unfortunate that school finance has become so political, and it seems like it's becoming more and more political," Lyons told the Times. But with the two property tax over-rides that district voters have approved, she said, "We're still in a lot better position than a lot of districts and are able to address programs and needs as best we can."
The budget includes staff pay increases averaging 2 percent, Lyons said. Those plus asssociated Medicare and PERA retirement contributions will cost the district around $160,000. In addition, a PERA rate increase will cost the district another $61,000, and health insurance rates are up 5 percent, after switching plans to avoid a bigger increase. That's an additional cost of $45,000, Lyons said.
Other new costs are around $77,000 for pay and benefits for three full-time equivalent special needs aides at the high school, and $50,000 for two FTE special needs aides at the primary school (BEPS). Those are partially cancelled out by savings from staff adjustments at the middle school.
The $13.8 million in operations spending includes $7.9 million for instruction and $5.8 million for support functions and staff, administration, transportation, insurance, food services, and assorted allocated reserves.
Capital reserve spending lists $100,000 for track maintenance and $70,000 for a school bus.
The building fund has $600,000 left from the $11.9 million bond issue extension that paid for the addition at the high school and other projects. The remainder could be used for various wish list projects, including new equipment at the Bayfield Elementary playground.
The school board will approve a final budget in December after actual enrollment is determined by the official student count day in October.
