Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Depew board begins budget season, cites enrollment stability and funding risks
Summary
Superintendent Katie Smith outlined budget-development goals and a calendar toward an anticipated May budget adoption, citing enrollment projections that track slightly above the study's "best estimate" and warning staff will monitor potential federal funding cuts that could shift costs locally.
Superintendent Katie Smith presented the district’s budget-development goals and timeline, telling the board the process will prioritize long-term fiscal stability, alignment with district strategic priorities, and preservation of core programs. Smith said the budget calendar calls for draft work through February and March, an anticipated adoption in April and a budget vote in May.
Smith reviewed internal drivers (contractual obligations, staffing and benefits, programming requirements, reserves and BOCES service requests) and external drivers (foundation aid, federal funding, interest-earnings volatility, health-insurance costs, TRS/ERS rates, utility costs and state mandates such as electric-bus conversion). She said district staff are monitoring federal and state developments because changes in Title I/IDEA funding or other federal decisions could affect the local budget in coming years.
On enrollment, Smith reminded the board of an enrollment study presented last year that produced five projection models; the 'best estimate' in that study was 1,789 K–12 students. Smith reported current enrollment is slightly above that estimate and described the district’s approach to planning for cohort imbalances and sectioning if particular grades show unexpected increases.
During questions a board member asked whether the counts for English-language learners and poverty metrics are still based on older data; Smith acknowledged that some measures use older data and that advocacy groups are pressing for formula updates. Smith said there is no immediate impact on this year’s federal funding streams but that staff will continue to monitor federal proposals as they evolve.
Next steps: continued meetings with administrators through January, incorporation of the governor’s budget proposal when released, tax-cap calculations in February, and staff presentations of first and second drafts in February/March leading to approval processes in April and May.
