Barrington District 220 begins planning 2014-15 budget

Barrington Unit District 220 board members Monday began the winter-long process of setting their approximately $130 million budget for the 2014-15 school year by discussing what factors they knew for certain and which were still in flux.

Though the budget won’t be formally adopted until September, staffing costs — around which so much else depends — must be determined by early March to give potentially laid-off teachers adequate notice. Declining enrollment in the early grades led Superintendent Tom Leonard to estimate a reduction of 12 positions next year.

Other factors that will be discussed in the coming months include the estimated $1 million per year cost of a program to equip students with their own laptops,

“This is going to have to be a pretty big conversation,” board President Brian Battle said.

At the meeting, board members opted to lower an August estimate of a 2 percent rate of inflation next year to only 1 percent, based on such factors as the diminishing cost of fuel.

The school district’s own transportation costs haven’t benefited from this general trend, however, because the price of the diesel fuel school buses use has remained more steady, administrators said.

The district has historically collected 99 percent of the property taxes it’s owed, but it usually budgets for a more conservative 98 percent expectation.

New board member Christopher Geier asked why this was, likening it to setting one’s watch ahead 10 minutes to avoid being late but knowing the watch is ahead.

The board compromised at a 98.75 percent expectation of tax collection.

“I think it shows we’re being a little conservative,” board member Richard Burkhart said.