The Frontenac USD 249 Board of Education voted Monday to approve a $133,000 budget adjustment for Fiscal Year 2011 that includes spending reductions and either an increase or implementation of various fees.
Superintendent Dr. Dale Slagle, after a lengthy budget study with a roundtable of district staff and administrators, recommended the budget changes during Monday’s regular BOE meeting. The adjustment was necessary because of the reduction in state funding for education, which has cost the Frontenac district more than $260,000 so far this school year.
Approximately $102,000 of the adjustments were in the form of spending cuts, which most affected supply budgets and funds for capital projects. The district supply budget was reduced by 10 percent to $43,000, while the capital projects budget was cut in half to $25,000.
Other notable cuts include $9,933 in spending reductions for support staff — custodians, cooks, aides — on non-school work days, a $9,927 cut to Greenbush memberships, a $6,207 cut in spending for extended contracts and a $6,000 cut to professional development funds. Slagle said more discussion is needed to determine precisely who or what would be affected by some of the cuts.
Regardless, he told the board, “These are decisions that are going to make some people unhappy.”
The other $31,000 is made up of a variety of fees. Raising the most revenue will likely be a 20-cent price increase on all paid breakfasts and lunches, a fee increase that is expected to raise more than $15,000 in revenue next year. The BOE also approved increasing the enrollment fee to $35 from $25 per student, with the exception of those students who receive free lunches. The enrollment fee increase is expected to generate $6,000 in revenue for the district.
A new fee to be implemented next year is a $20 fee for students who participate in extracurricular activities — athletics, in particular. The fee, though not popular among some board members, is estimated to raise $4,000. A facility use fee of $50 for private use and $25 for civic use was also approved, which could bring in $2,000, and the sell of two Dodge Caravans is expected to raise $2,250.
Neither staff reductions nor a tax increase were included as part of the budget adjustments.
“Which is good,” said board member Adam Lusker. “That’s real good.”
Board member Barbara Barto, like her colleagues, was not a big fan of any of the cuts. With the state budget situation being what it is, however, “You have to do something.”
While the approved budget adjustments were hard enough to take, Slagle also presented what cuts would be needed if the Base State Aid Per Pupil — down to $4,012 from $4,433 — drops again. The Kansas Department of Education predicts that if the Kansas Legislature remedies the state’s $400 million budget deficit with solely cuts and no revenue increases, BSAPP could fall to $3,726.
