With an upturn in
school attendance over last year, the Duneland Schools budget for 2015 will
be advertised at $65,083,100, about a one percent increase over this year.
The Duneland School
Board on Monday authorized advertising the budgets in the Chesterton
Tribune Aug. 27 and Sept. 3 to give notice of a public hearing to be
held Monday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m.
The budgets for
2014 were advertised at $64.4 million, with the General Fund at $34.5
million. By comparison, the General Fund for 2015 is estimated at $35.975
million. The Fund, which helps pay for staff and benefits, is generated by
the state’s funding formula for public schools, taking into account average
daily membership or enrollment - the more students, the higher the amount.
Superintendent of
Schools David Pruis said the previous ADM count in February saw more
students than the September count last year, which is not common.
Meanwhile, the
Capital Projects Fund, which is the largest levied fund from local property
taxes, will be advertised at $9.384 million which is more than a $1 million
decrease from last year, as the fund will help neutralize the schools’
pension debt fund.
That will not give
the Duneland Schools as much money to complete projects such as repairing
buildings, sports facilities and technology, among other things, said
Duneland’s Chief Financial Officer Lynn Kwilasz. “That’s a pretty big drop,”
she said.
The CPF fund was
advertised at $10.5 million for 2014 with a levy of $7.94 million. The fund
currently has a balance of roughly $500,000, which will have to be stretched
through the end of this year, Kwilasz said.
The Transportation
Operations Fund has also been used to neutralize the pension debt fund but
it will be advertised at a higher amount at $4.1 million. The advertised
amount for 2014 was $3.996 million.
The Debt Service
fund will be advertised at $7.467 million, nearly the same as it was last
year. The same goes for School Pension Debt fund at $1.6 million.
To capture the full
22 cents per $100 of assessed valuation of the Referendum fund, which has
been used to offset gaps in the state-controlled General Fund, the
administration will inflate the estimated amount to $5.8 million which the
state will adjust later when it issues the budget.
The 22-cent rate
was achieved last year with a certified levy of $5.582 million.
Buses
The 2 percent
growth factor the state allows for the levy will allow the Bus Replacement
Fund a beefier figure in 2015 than this year. The advertised amount is
$750,000 versus $667,000 for 2014.
Still, the same
number of buses will be replaced next year as this year - six. Kwilasz said
the cash balance is being built up to allow the purchase of more replacement
buses in the upcoming years. The school corporation’s 12-year plan includes
seven new buses for 2017, eight for 2018, and nine for 2019.
Currently, the
funds available total $1.154 million.
Board member John
Marshall inquired about the purchase of additional buses as the school
corporation grows. Kwilasz said there hasn’t been a school district yet in
Indiana to successfully convince the state to increase the levy for the
purchase of more buses, but schools could try to convince lawmakers of the
need. She said the school district has been lucky enough to have Director of
Transportation Jim Bonfield at the helm to keep the fleet maintained with no
major problems.
Pruis concluded
that “we’ll do the best we can with what we have.”
Bonfield said the
problem with replacing buses with those that have a larger capacity is that
the longer the bus the more trouble it has navigating in certain residential
areas, such as subdivisions.
Another obstacle
the schools continue to face is the growing cost of fuel and equipment, he
said.
Tax rate
The total estimated
tax rate for the Duneland Schools is 1.3024, a decrease from what was
estimated and advertised by the schools last year. The figure then was
1.358, later certified at $1.087.
Kwilasz said the
tax rate is lower this year because the County Assessor’s office has
indicated the overall assessed values for the school district and the county
have increased.
The schools should
have a better understanding of what finances will look like in time for the
Sept. 8 public hearing and should be prepared to answer questions from
taxpayers, Kwilasz said.
Budgets, along with
levies and tax rates, are advertised higher than anticipated so that the
school corporation can achieve the highest level of funding allowed once it
is finalized by the Department of Local Government Finance.
School enrollment
steady
Later in the
meeting, Pruis said the first four days of the 2014-15 school year saw no
major problems other than a few “transportation issues” of getting students
on the right buses.
As for enrollment,
Pruis said the numbers indicate the school district is “right about where it
was last year.”
The ADM student
count for September 2013 was 5,710.5 and 5,718.1 for February. Pruis
anticipates numbers close to that when the count is taken on Friday, Sept.
12.
He said the
corporation has seen growth particularly in the kindergarten, third grade
and fifth grade classes.
Pruis said before
the board meets next on Sept. 8, he should find out how much the foundation
amount per student will be in the state funding formula for this year.
Before adjournment,
Board President Ralph Ayres gave thanks to the police departments of
Chesterton, Porter, Burns Harbor and the Porter County Sheriff’s Police for
“outstanding vigilance” over traffic on the first day of school.