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U-46 board reviews tentative $580M budget for upcoming school year

Elgin Area School District U-46 school board officials Monday night reviewed a proposed $579.7 million spending plan for the 2019-20 school year.

The tentative budget for fiscal year 2020 calls for a $21.6 million increase in spending from last year's budget of $558.1 million. The increase largely is in salaries and benefits ($16.8 million), which constitute 70 percent of expenditures, said Dale Burnidge, director of financial operations.

Projected total revenues for all funds amount to $581 million - a $19.9 million increase from the previous year's revenues of $561.1 million. The revenue breakdown is 53% from local property taxes, 32% from the state's evidence-based funding formula and 5% in state categorical payments, 6% from federal and 4% from other local sources.

Officials are anticipating $512.9 million in operating fund revenues and expenditures projected at $511.9 million, ending with a $1 million surplus in the fund, Burnidge said.

The district's overall fund balance at the end of the 2020 fiscal year is projected to be a healthy $297.4 million.

Among the big ticket expenses next year are $7 million allocated for facility improvements to accommodate new pathways programs, annual contractual increases in salaries, the hiring of 54 full-time English Language Learner and special education teachers, 10 assistant principals for elementary schools and six additional instructional coaches for elementary grades, and the purchase of 12,000 personal Chromebooks for students in fifth through eighth grades districtwide.

The school board Monday night also approved the purchase of 253 Dell desktop computers for $123,750, which is included in next year's budget.

Health insurance costs are increasing by 5% million and pension, Medicare and Social Security increases equal salary increases, Burnidge said.

Final state calculations for how much evidence-based funding U-46 will receive for next year will come in July, he added.

The final budget will be presented at the Aug. 12 school board meeting.

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