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District officials said they had anticipated a deficit due to continued enrollment decreases combined with increases to employee pay, though increasing fuel costs and the failure of state funding to keep up with inflation exasperated the deficit.
Projected expenses for the year are about $49.4 million for the district, while projected revenue is estimated at $47.7 million, lowering district-fund balances to a little more than $5 million total.
Compared to the final budget update of the 2007-08 school year, the initial budget revenue totals are about $770,000 less, while budget expenses are about $770,000 more.
“When you sum it all up, most of it has to do with enrollment,” said Jeff Seeley, district director of fiscal affairs.
The largest single projected budget item change is in transportation, with the district anticipating a nearly $800,000 increase in bus services, activities transportation and employee travel. Much of that is unallocated staff development money, Seeley said, but the district is also anticipating continued increases in the price of gas, to a point.
“If it keeps going up to, say, five dollars a gallon, there probably won’t be enough there,” Seeley said.
The district projects that roughly 70 percent of general fund revenues will come from state aid, and 23.5 percent will come from local tax levies.
The district also estimates that 56.3 percent of its general fund expenses would go to salary and wages for employees, while just over 20 percent will go to employee benefits.
The board also approved a new liability and worker’s compensation plan, which would reduce the district’s premium by almost $150,000 by switching from Berkley Risk Administrators to Indiana Insurance.
Comments and debate
At the beginning of the meeting, board members Stacey Mounce-Arnold and Vicki Englich held a spirited exchange about improving relationships between administration and the teacher’s union.
Mounce-Arnold mentioned that a member of the union asked if it would be possible for Superintendent Paul Durand to not attend meet and confer sessions between the union and the school board. Since he is an ex officio board member and lead administrator, Englich said she felt it would be circumventing the process to exclude Durand.
“He belongs there,” Englich said.
Durand interjected, saying he intended to attend any meet and confer sessions involving the teacher’s union. Mounce-Arnold then suggested that if Durand would attend the meetings, he should change what she felt was a non-receptive attitude.
“I would recommend he do more listening than talking,” said Mounce-Arnold.
Englich responded that she felt that assertion was unfair and unsubstantiated. Board chairman Brian Neil ended the back-and-forth by stating the debate wasn’t an agenda item, and that the board should move on at that time.
During public comment, Tim Hatfield, a parent who along with his wife Susan helped analyze a survey conducted by the teacher’s union, again criticized Durand and the board for disregarding the survey and for what they felt was demeaning comments made about them by Durand and former board members. Susan Hatfield prerecorded a message for the board.
