News

U-46 approves budget; daily operations up 7 percent

Posted September 23, 2008 11:00 pm

By Kerry Lester

With soaring fuel costs and new programs in mind, Elgin Area School District U-46 board members approved a $446 million budget Monday, a $25 million increase from last year.

The 2008-09 budget allocates about $377 million for day-to-day school operations, a 7 percent hike from the prior spending plan.

The increase will pay for restructuring plans at four of the district's high schools and two of its middle schools, a new teacher evaluation process and additional staff.

The budget includes money for all initiatives put in place as part of U-46's district improvement plan, U-46 Chief Financial Officer John Prince said.

It also will fund a new therapeutic day school for special needs students currently in private programs.

An extra $9 million will pay U-46 teachers, administrators, staff members and supervisors this year. Teachers salaries alone show a $7 million bump.

After supplementing its transportation budget nearly $600,000 last year to cover rising fuel costs, the district this year requested $3 million for gas - nearly double what was in the previous budget.

Prince said that the district would likely receive a $278,000 increase in general state aid, largely due to increased funding for the national school lunch program.

The tentative budget, unveiled Aug. 12, initially called for $364.4 million for daily operations, about $12 million less than the plan approved Monday.

Changes, Prince told the board Monday, were due in part to shifts in grant money coming in, and a remix of the allocation of property taxes to various funds.

The district finished the 2007-08 school year with a $6.4 million deficit in its operating fund.

<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:x="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <meta name=ProgId content=Excel.Sheet> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Excel 11"> <link rel=File-List href="u46gfx_files/filelist.xml"> <link rel=Edit-Time-Data href="u46gfx_files/editdata.mso"> <link rel=OLE-Object-Data href="u46gfx_files/oledata.mso">  <style>  </style>  </head> <body link=blue vlink=purple> <table x:str border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width=233 style='border-collapse: collapse;table-layout:fixed;width:175pt'> <col width=105 style='mso-width-source:userset;mso-width-alt:3840;width:79pt'> <col width=64 span=2 style='width:48pt'> <tr height=32 style='height:24.0pt'> <td height=32 class=xl24 colspan=2 width=169 style='height:24.0pt;mso-ignore: colspan;width:127pt'>U-46 budget</td> <td width=64 style='width:48pt'></td> </tr> <tr height=18 style='height:13.5pt'> <td height=18 style='height:13.5pt'></td> <td class=xl26>2007-08</td> <td class=xl26>2008-09</td> </tr> <tr height=18 style='height:13.5pt'> <td height=18 class=xl25 style='height:13.5pt'>Total</td> <td>$421 mil.</td> <td>$446 mil.</td> </tr> <tr height=18 style='height:13.5pt'> <td height=18 class=xl25 style='height:13.5pt'>Operating</td> <td>$26 mil.</td> <td>$27 mil.</td> </tr> <tr height=18 style='height:13.5pt'> <td height=18 class=xl25 style='height:13.5pt'>Education</td> <td>$305 mil.</td> <td>$326 mil.</td> </tr> <tr height=18 style='height:13.5pt'> <td height=18 class=xl25 style='height:13.5pt'>Transportation</td> <td>$21 mil.</td> <td>$26 mil.</td> </tr> <tr height=18 style='height:13.5pt'> <td height=18 class=xl26 colspan=3 style='height:13.5pt;mso-ignore:colspan'>Source:<font class="font6"> Elgin Area School District U-46</font></td> </tr> <![if supportMisalignedColumns]> <tr height=0 style='display:none'> <td width=105 style='width:79pt'></td> <td width=64 style='width:48pt'></td> <td width=64 style='width:48pt'></td> </tr> <![endif]> </table> </body> </html>

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