School board approves working budget

Published 10:29 am Wednesday, September 28, 2016

The Clark County School Board unanimously voted Tuesday night to approve its working budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year.

The budget projects more than $64 million in revenues with $50.1 million in anticipated expenditures, 80 percent of which will cover salaries and other personnel expenses.

The budget also includes a reserve of more than $14 million.

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According to state law, a local school board must have a working budget approved by September 30 each year.

While the overall budget has been approved, board members agreed that decisions on employee salaries, including whether employees will receive pay increases and how much they will be, will be decided in a future board meeting.

Superintendent Paul Christy said that the budget has money set aside in it to give increases of up to 2 percent for certified employees and up to 3 percent for classified employees.

“Any of that money not used goes back to the general fund,” Christy said.

Board chairman Michael Kuduk requested the item will be added to the agenda of the next regularly scheduled board meeting, which will take place October 18.

The budget shows that the district’s food services revenues have dropped by more than $353,000, from nearly $4.6 million to $4.2 million.

Christy said that was in part because of a lack of participation from students in food programs that receive state reimbursement. He said more students are preferring to select items a la carte rather than receiving fully prepared meals, which the district gets reimbursed for providing.

Additionally, board member Gordon Parido expressed concerns about the district’s allocation for supplies being reduced by more  than $230,000.

Parade said that he would prefer if — when additional funds remain in the account as had happened in previous years — the schools be made aware of the balance so that it may possibly be used to supply additional projects.

“I’d like to see more transparency with school supplies,” he said.

The district is projected to end the fiscal year with a balance of $14.8 million.

Contact Seth Littrell at seth.littrell@winchestersun.com.