2018 Budget Of North Lawrence Community Schools Subject Of Public Hearing

Last updated on Thursday, September 7, 2017

(BEDFORD) - The North Lawrence Community School proposed 2018 budget will be the subject of a public hearing tonight at 6:15 p.m. at the Administration Building.

Then on Sept. 21 the school board will vote on the appropriated budget request.

The budget is an appropriation request. Appropriations are simply permission to spend funds. Appropriations do not reflect the actual amount that the school corporation will receive. For most of the funds, higher amounts are advertised, with officials expecting to receive less.

Revenue coming to the school system is based on student enrollment on Average Daily Membership Days. Because of declining enrollments North Lawrence has to reduce its operating expenses.

The proposed budget for 2018 is $51,144,107. The maximum amount to be raised through local property taxes is estimated at $14,135,918. The current tax levy is $10,985,281. The tax rate for 2018 is $1.0207, which was approved by the Department of Local Government Finance.

Funding received in the General Fund is calculated by multiplying the number submitted for the September student enrollment count day by the per pupil amount allocated for the school corporation. The per student amount per pupil for 2018 is $5,92.58. The per pupil amount is a combination of the state tuition amount of $5,273 with the complexity index amount of $699.58.

For 2018 the school corporation lost around $2,464,090 so that mean cuts will have to be made.

According to Superintendent Gary Conner, 86 percent of the General Fund is dedicated to personnel wages. This year some staffing positions were realigned to reduce costs.

The corporation budget has seven funds and each can be used for other operating expenses if needed.

General Fund: this fund covers most operating expenses. For 2018, the general fund is advertised at $33,630,476. Around 86 percent of this fund will be dedicated to wages.
Debt Service: this fund is supported by local property tax money. For 2018 the fund was advertised at $4,804,334.
Transportation: this fund is for transporting students to and from school and is supported by local property taxes. The advertised amount is $4,992,556.
Rainy Day: this fund is required by the state to be used for emergencies. The advertised amount for 2018 is $2,150,000.
Pension Debt: is advertised at $801,336.
Capital Projects: is advertised at $4,434,405.
Bus Replacement: is advertised at $331,000.

1340 AM WBIW welcomes comments and suggestions by calling 812.277.1340 during normal business hours or by email at comments@wbiw.com

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