After a partial audit by the Kansas Department of Education, the Emporia school district has reason to believe it will receive more state funds than originally estimated.
The district had planned for the worst, with $30,771,226 set for spending this fiscal year, and hoped for the best when it set its 2008-09 budget estimate at $32,139,693, which included state aid and the local mill levy for the district.
During a study session Wednesday evening at Mary Herbert Education Center, board members heard that the district likely will have about $32,988,170, primarily because of “weightings.” Weightings are money added for at-risk students, transportation, English-language learners, special education and free or reduced-price meals and other special categories. The state has added $59 per student to bring its total contribution to $4,433 per full-time equivalency student. Money also was added for special-education teachers. The district is in its last year of receiving weighted funds for students who use the new physical fitness and weight room facilities at Emporia High School.
Assistant Superintendent for Finance Rob Scheib said that, while enrollment was down in the district — as expected because of the Tyson job eliminations this year — state funding is up.
“We got weighted students that more than made up for the difference (in enrollment),” Scheib said.
He emphasized that the additional funds do not come from local taxes.
“All of the funding, the additional funding, comes from state coffers. No mill levies change in Lyon County.”
The district receives a substantial bonus from the state because more than 50 percent of its students receive free or reduced-price meals because their families’ incomes meet or exceed federal poverty level requirements.
“The good news is we have more money,” said board member Mike Helbert. “The bad news is that we have more poor students, economically speaking.”
And, while the funds available are even better than the district had hoped for, the future remains unpredictable. District officials expect that additional Tyson-related students will leave during this school year, and there are questions what the remaining families will do when unemployment runs out early next year.
Scheib presented four scenarios for the future, based on possible enrollment and weightings. All of them resulted in substantial losses in funds for the district, ranging from an estimated minimum of $721,870.22 less to a maximum of $1,374,851.12 less than this year’s new budget figure.
The added money this year, however, will allow the district to give its employees larger raises than had originally been planned.
“The present reality is that we have money to meet the obligation of a negotiated agreement which said we were going to take salaries up to 3 percent,” Superintendent John Heim said.
A 3 percent raise, instead of the budgeted 1.5 percent for all staff, would cost the district about $422,450 in additional funds, Heim estimated.
“That’s the good news,” he said. “We definitely will have enough money to do that.”
Representatives of the Interest Based Bargaining teams were to meet at 4:15 p.m. today at Mary Herbert to discuss the topic.
Earlier in the study session, Heim talked to the board about the “state of the state” and cautioned them about state budget shortfalls that are expected for the current fiscal year. Heim had talked with state education officials about the situation on Monday.
“As of today, the state is about $19 million behind in revenue,” Heim said. “That’s on a fiscal year. But that’s sort of the good news.
“The bad news is that they are budgeting for negative balances on ... July 1st. It’s really only some accounting tricks that allows them to finish with a positive balance on June 30.”
Because of the unknown enrollment ramifications caused by Tyson Fresh Foods’ elimination of up to 1,700 jobs here earlier this year, the Kansas legislature enacted a bill that provided a two percent floor for the Emporia school district. The buoying up of the district’s budget was intended to prevent a potentially serious budget crisis if many former Tyson workers moved out and school enrollment dropped too precipitously.
“They put $59 per student in a lockbox for us,” Heim said. “Now some of the prognosticators are saying we shouldn’t count on getting that.”
Heim asked the board members to consider what they want to do with the extra funds expected to become available.
He suggested they consider reinstating one-time reductions from the performance-based budgeting recommendations, such as purchasing two buses at approximately $170,000; replacing computers and upgrading technology at $200,000; and transferring money to special funds and the Capital Outlay fund at approximately $505,973, for a total of $875,973.
Heim also asked that the board consider reinstating building budgets for $63,500 and increasing building capital outlay budgets for $55,000, for a total of $118,500.
Textbook reserves, a new telephone system, enhancing the technology infrastructure and implementing capital improvements to conserve energy and save money also were among the items Heim recommended the board consider.