We are continuing to plan the FY 23 budget which begins July 1, 2022. Maintaining a balanced budget is a priority for the Board, and my goal is to achieve that while continuing to provide appropriate staffing, good health insurance coverage, and steps and movement for staff. If the budget will allow, we are looking to enhance the salary schedule by an amount yet to be determined. The FY 23 budget will be presented to the Board for their approval at the June 2022 meeting. A few things to consider regarding the budget while planning: State Funding The state is looking to fund the foundation formula for FY 23 the same as this year. Even though we had a decrease in student average daily attendance (ADA) due to COVID, the state is funding districts based on FY 20 ADA. This will prevent Fort Osage from losing approximately $750,000 in funding. Levy Transfer The voter approved levy transfer in the April 2020 election is proving to be beneficial in providing additional revenue for operating costs. Information is listed below. FY 22 + $0.20 to operating fund = $708,000 FY 23 + $0.06 to operating fund = $212,000 ESSER III This one time federal funding comes with a restriction that 20% of the $8,062,482 be allocated to address learning loss. The plan is to use this 20% ($1,612,496) for an additional social worker, interventionists, learning mentors, extended day mentors, and late transportation (if drivers are available). ESSER III funds come as a reimbursement to the District once funds are expended. Our plan with the remaining 80% ($6,449,986) of the ESSER III funds will be expended over two fiscal years (FY 23 and FY 24). These funds will be used to offset the increase in operating costs due to the pandemic. By doing so, this will provide $3,224,993 for both FY 23 and FY 24. Since we received $3,583,397 from ESSER II funding in FY 22 (this is also one time money that will go away at the end of this year), we will have $358,404 less in federal funding next year. Health Insurance Insurance rates continue to be a large expenditure for our District. We sent an additional $850,000 in supplemental payments to our insurance provider in FY 22 due to an unusual increase in claims. Having said that, claims have declined in January and February of this year, preventing us from making an additional supplemental payment. Last year we spent $6.2 million on health insurance as compared to $3.1 million seven years ago. As the January 1, 2023 insurance renewal approaches, we will continue to explore plan options within the consortium. Inflation The cost of supplies (i.e. fuel, electricity, food, technology, and materials) are increasing dramatically. We will continue to keep a watchful eye on our spending and take advantage of rebates and preferred pricing when available. Salary Salary and benefits are a priority to me and the board. At the June board meeting, my recommendation to the board will be to provide steps and movement at a cost of approximately $900,000. We are looking at enhancing the salary schedule by an amount yet to be determined with funds available. Comments are closed.
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