School Board Approves Budget (NY)

July 23, 2010

The Albany County School Distr ict No. 1 Board of Education approved a budget for the 2010-11 school year during a special meeting Wednesday night.

Total revenue for the coming school year is projected to be $49,225,000, with expenditures set at $49,288,000.

Business manager Ed Goetz said projected revenue increased about $2.2 million from last year due mainly to more funding from the state because of increased enrollment. The Wyoming Legislature did not approve an adjustment to the funding model to account for inflation, which it has done for the last four years.

About 70 percent of the district’s funding comes from the state. Local sources account for 22 percent, county revenue accounts for 7 percent and federal money accounts for .2 percent.

Expenditures are up about $2.2 million compared to last year, with most of that money going toward employee salary and benefit increases.

The district spends about 59 percent of its budget on salaries and another 23 percent on benefits. Salaries and benefits for employees at Snowy Range Academy are not part of that figure because the district gives the charter school a lump sum to spend according to its own budget.

Board member Lawrence Perea asked Goetz how the district’s spending on salaries and benefits compares to other districts in Wyoming, and Goetz said the figures were similar when the charter school was accounted for.

“We’re close to the state average for large districts,” he said. “I’d say we’re very comparable, even nationally, with what a lot of districts do.”

The district should have a reserve of about 10 percent this year, which is the board’s goal. Goetz said a healthy reserve would be a good thing becaus e he anticipates another year of flat funding from the state.

“It will give us some flexibility in dealing with that,” he said. “New funding doesn’t appear to be in the cards, and having some reserve is going to help us negotiate that situation.”