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Schools

2011-2012 School District Budget Passes Unanimously

Debbie Campbell, executive director of Business Services for the Sumner School District presented the "user-friendly" budget at the Aug. 17 school board meeting.

The Sumner School District 2011-2012 budget passed unanimously at the council meeting on Wednesday night, setting revenue at $77,879,322 and expenditures at $78,485,880.

This year is the first year that the budget has been calculated with a Prototypical School Funding Model, basing state-funded staff on an estimated number of students. The number of students for the 2011-12 school year has been estimated at 7,604.

Local Excess Levies will provide for an expected $17,077,702 of the budget— $952,300 more than last year.

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The majority of the budget (57.2 percent) is designated for Basic Education. 22.6 percent will go to Support Services, 11 percent to Special Education, 3.3 percent to Vocational Education, 3 percent to Compensatory Education, 2.4 percent to Community Services, and 0.5 percent set aside for Other Instructional Programs.

Executive Director of Business Services Debbie Campbell included a more detailed page outlining designation of Special Services fund as an example of the work that they have done. Total expenditures are set at $10,277,240, with $712,387 coming from local levies.

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“That is really as bare bones as we can go,” insisted Campbell.

Most of the stimulus money has run out, putting zeros where last year there were a few hundred thousand dollars. In addition, there is no funding designated for professional development.

A chart in the “user-friendly” budget showed that salaries and benefits will make up 80 percent of the budget ($62,703,610), but Campbell said that at the end of the year it should look more like 84 percent.

“The retirement rate went up,” explained Campbell.

The Board of Directors had a few objections and questions.

“To me, right now, the checkbook doesn’t balance,” said Legislative Representative Greg Hanon. He referred to the seeming $606,548 deficit between revenue and expenditures.

Campbell explained that that money would be transferred to the $1.3 million Capital Projects fund that had previously been set aside for improvements to technology.

“It needs to be represented,” insisted Hanon.

“We have to be spending some money on professional development, somewhere, somehow, I hope,” asserted Board Member Mike Pavlik. Campbell replied that their hadn’t been any money for it.

Another objection was raised about the “convoluted” and “ridiculous” formula used to calculate transportation costs.

“We need an adoption tonight,” interrupted Campbell. “Can’t write a check September 1st without one.”

In the end, the budget was adopted.

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