Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Greenville Central School District board reviews budget as health-insurance rates leave $87,007 shortfall
Summary
District staff told the board the proposed 2024–25 budget currently shows a projected $87,007.53 deficit tied largely to health-insurance rates that won’t be finalized until an RCG trust meeting on March 22; board members agreed to wait for that number before making final changes.
The Greenville Central School District Board of Education heard a detailed budget update on March 11 that showed a projected shortfall of $87,007.53 in next year’s budget.
Todd, the district finance presenter, told the board the most significant remaining unknown is next year’s health-insurance rates and that a meeting hosted by the RCG trust on March 22 should provide final figures. "We have a meeting set for March 22... we're supposed to get the final numbers for health insurance for next year," he said.
Todd reviewed recent adjustments to revenue projections that improved the district’s position somewhat, citing higher transportation aid (about $68,000), an increase in excess-cost special-education aid (about $25,000), BOCES aid (+$29,001.43), additional tuition revenue (+$25,000) and higher interest income (+$50,000). He also said the district expects a roughly $45,000 health-insurance refund from the RCG trust based on current-year spending.
On the expenditure side, Todd described several reductions and reclassifications that lowered next year’s requests: use of current-year textbook and equipment funds to reduce next-year lines; trimming some stimulus-funded positions; and vendor-quote refinements that reduced elementary phonics and arts-and-education lines (about $3,000 and $10,000, respectively).
With those adjustments, Todd reported the budget still shows a small deficit and that the presented plan is based on a 2.5% tax-levy increase. He said the district’s tax-cap calculation indicated a maximum allowable levy of about 3.17 percent under current rules. "At 2.5% we show the modest deficit of $87,007.53," Todd said, adding that the district could either raise the levy or reduce spending to eliminate the shortfall.
Board members repeatedly urged caution and recommended waiting for the March 22 health-insurance numbers before authorizing substantive changes. The chair said the district cannot operate in deficit and preferred waiting to see the RCG trust figures, noting that health-insurance conservatism in the budget could cover some of the gap.
Next steps: the board agreed to reconvene budget decisions after receiving March 22 health-insurance rates and any final state aid guidance.
