More maintenance and A/C, less tech in Dist. 204's $346M budget
More maintenance projects. Plans to expand air conditioning. Scaled-back technology spending. A pricier bus contract.
These are among the highlights of a new spending plan approved by school board members in Indian Prairie Unit District 204 as the school year begins.
The $346 million budget took effect July 1 and was formally approved this week. It lasts until June 30, 2016, guiding spending on salaries, benefits, supplies, maintenance, education and transportation.
The bulk of the budget - $317 million - will be spent on operating expenses, while the remaining $29 million will go toward paying back debt on previous school construction, said Jay Strang, chief school business official. The $317 million operating budget is an $8 million increase from last year's $309 million.
As students head into their first full week of classes, here are some of the budget highlights families might notice:
More maintenance
A facilities study completed a few years ago suggested District 204 needs to spend $8.5 million a year to keep all of its 34 buildings in good shape. But during the recession, Strang said yearly spending was about $3.5 million.
This year, it totals $7.2 million.
"We've put more money into capital outlay than we have in a number of years," Strang said.
Maintenance projects include reactive work to fix problems by replacing asphalt play areas at Brooks, Cowlishaw, Georgetown, Graham and May Watts elementaries, replacing boilers at Brookdale and McCarty elementaries, replacing carpet at Longwood Elementary, repaving the parking lot at Brooks Elementary and installing new ceramic tile in the locker rooms and pool at Neuqua Valley High School and in the physical education locker rooms at Waubonsie Valley High School.
Other projects are designed to ward off problems, such as replacing the visitors' football bleachers at Waubonsie, replacing the chiller at Granger Middle School, making electrical upgrades at Clow Elementary and Hill Middle School, painting and improving heating, ventilation and air conditioning controls at several schools and improving the Waubonsie field house with lighting upgrades and more basketball hoops.
"This is our effort to continue to get our facilities back up in shape," Strang said.
Expanding A/C
Nineteen elementary schools welcomed students this week with new partial air conditioning installed in an average of four classrooms.
Strang said work to cool the schools isn't finished; the district has budgeted to add air conditioning to another 30 to 50 rooms this year.
Tech spending
Three years ago, the district decided to temporarily boost technology spending by about $2.5 million a year to prepare for the new standardized test students took this spring, which was designed to be administered online.
Now that District 204 has upgraded infrastructure so students can take the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers exam, Strang said the additional tech funding isn't needed.
Bus prices rise
When the previous bus service contract expired, the district was required to seek new bids from companies willing to transport kids to school.
The school board went with the same vendor, First Student, but Strang said the price went up 16 percent from the previous deal. This year District 204 is spending $17 million on bus transportation.
Looking ahead
Before the end of the year, school board members will approve a tax levy to fund next year's budget. The levy can increase by 0.8 percent because that's how much the consumer price index rose, Strang said.
Calculations are not yet complete for how the average homeowner's property taxes will be affected.