USD 284, Chase County, will have another round of tough decisions when it comes to next year’s budget for the school district.
Superintendent Greg Markowitz said the school board met Monday evening and looked at preliminary budget figures for the 2009-2010 school year. Board members asked questions of Markowitz and discussed cost factors.
“They made no decisions of any type last night,” he said this morning.
Markowitz said USD 284 is a declining enrollment district. The adjusted FTE enrollment on Sept. 20, 2006, was 444.7; on Sept. 20, 2007, it was 438.0; and on Sept. 22, 2008, the unaudited number was 412.0.
“It’s obvious that we lost 26 FTE count from our last fiscal year,” Markowitz said. “Our projected numbers for next year are 410.”
Markowitz said lower student numbers equal less funding for the school district. The projected loss for the 2009-2010 fiscal year is $23,895 after FTE credits were added into the overall $51,957 loss of funding.
While the funding will be down, expenses such as utilities, food and fuel will go up, Markowitz said.
“The declining enrollment is going to have to be accommodated,” he said.
The school board will spend the months of October and November looking at budgets. The following months will be spent making preliminary budget decisions. The board will make final budget decisions late next spring.