Union Public School District has budgeted $9,734,657 to spend on its three school buildings over the next fiscal year. In a public hearing held Aug. 5 at the district office, Business Manager Abby Winstead explained to trustees how that money would be spent.
“The largest chunk, by far, is instruction,” she said. “It’s almost 60 percent of our whole budget.”
A FY20 budget breakdown Winstead provided shows more than $5.8 million being spent on instruction, $723,000 for maintenance, $491,000 for administration costs and $512,000 for student support.
“The board made the decision to invest in people,” Winstead said. “That is reflected in the budget.”
Revenues, the money the district will bring in over the next year, is slightly less than the budgeted expenses at $9,610,252. However, Superintendent Tyler Hansford said the numbers are somewhat misleading as they do not reflect money rolled over from last year.
“The expense total, in actuality, is much more in line with the revenue expectation than it appears here,” he said in an email last Tuesday.
For instance, Hansford said, Union Public School District budgeted for, and purchased, a new school bus last year. The bus, however, was not received until July, so the $76,000 cost is reflected on the new budget.
“We rolled the money we had earmarked for it into a fund balance and will simply pay for it this budget year,” he said.
Hansford said the bus, along with an elementary assistant resignation, will reduce the deficit between revenues and expenses to about $4,000 while accounting for increased student support and expanded AP and pre-AP courses.
While the budget shows the district spending more than it takes in, Hansford and Winstead reminded trustees the district budget includes potential emergency expenditures. Last year, they said, the district spent about $45,000 less than the budget showed.
“Often, we budget for expenses and we are blessed that they don’t occur because of frugal management of electricity, water and maintenance expenses,” Hansford said.
Jeremy Hamm, president of the Board of Trustees, said the board had confidence in the district’s fiscal management. Hansford and Winstead, he said, have done a good job of managing the district’s money, and the board was pleased with their work.
