Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the District Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Finance staff outline state budget proposals; district projects $1.7 million gap under governor's plan
Summary
DeWitt Public Schools finance presenter reviewed recent governor and senate subcommittee budget proposals, projected district deficits under different scenarios, proposed staffing changes and next steps ahead of the board's June 9 budget approval.
District finance staff presented an update on state budget proposals and how the proposals would affect DeWitt Public Schools, projecting a near‑term gap under both the governor's and the senate subcommittee proposals.
The presenter said the senate subcommittee released a proposal that would set a $400 per‑pupil foundation allowance — $8 more per pupil than the governor's proposal. The senate and governor proposals also included changes to at‑risk and special‑education categorical funding and different levels of funding for the MPSERS employee health‑care reimbursement categorical. The presenter said the senate put more dollars into the employee health‑care reimbursement line: roughly $293,000 under the senate subcommittee proposal compared with about $172,000 under the governor's proposal for DeWitt.
On district staffing and savings, the presentation listed nine retirements/resignations/reconfigurations; staff told the board five of those positions will not be replaced, creating a projected savings of about $360,000. The finance presenter also noted the district needs to add a half‑time special‑education teacher at roughly $50,000.
Using current assumptions, the presenter said the district's bottom line would be a roughly $1.7 million deficit under the governor's plan and about $1.562 million under the senate subcommittee plan. Backing out one‑time amounts in the proposed budgets, the presenter said the projected structural gap would be roughly $337,000 under the governor and $191,000 under the senate subcommittee version.
Board members asked questions about enrollment trends and whether the district expects additional growth. Staff said weekly enrollment reports are provided; current trends appeared flat for the next year, and the district is monitoring the school‑choice window. The presenter also noted the board will consider the final budget at its June 9 meeting and that the district's finance committee would meet again next week.
The presenter concluded by saying the district will continue to monitor state action and enrollment and that current estimates could change when full budget proposals from the legislature are finalized. "As we've talked, we have to look structurally where we're at," the presenter told the board.
