Muncie Community Schools board grants permission to advertise 2025 budget, business manager outlines spending plan

Brad Jerome, Muncie Community Schools business manager, presented the district's advertised 2025 budget and the board voted to give permission to advertise, setting a public hearing for Aug. 27 and a budget adoption meeting for Sept. 10.

Jerome told the board the education fund is being advertised at $44,100,000 and the operation fund appropriation is about $11,700,000; debt service and rainy-day appropriations were also included in the advertised total. "We're advertising an education fund budget of 44,100,000," Jerome said during the presentation.

He described the mechanics behind the figures: the education fund revenue is driven by the state basic grant (two ADM counts, Oct. 1 and Feb. 1), recent changes in the state funding formula that increased revenue in 2023, and the district's estimate of flat enrollment for the coming year. Jerome said the district projects an ending education fund cash balance above $15 million for December 2025 and expects to remain in a surplus position under current assumptions.

Jerome explained the district can transfer up to 15% of the education fund to the operation fund and that the advertised spending includes such a transfer. He also noted the state's change to the teacher-spending rule: "It's the 62% rule" requiring wages and benefits be counted in the teacher-spending percentage, a difference from prior rules that counted only wages.

The presentation included a rundown of other fiscal items: the district continues paying down a $12 million state loan (with scheduled paydown through 2028), and the district has used ESSER funds, bond projects and insurance proceeds to support capital work in recent years. Jerome said interest income has aided the operation fund recently and that the district tries to budget conservatively because once advertised a budget can only be cut, not raised.

Board members asked questions about the enrollment assumptions, teacher-spending compliance and the effects of property tax caps on the operation fund. Jerome reiterated that property tax caps limit revenue and that the district is in one of the more heavily affected communities locally. After discussion, a motion to give permission to advertise the 2025 budget was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote; the chair declared the motion carried.

The board will hold the advertised public hearing on Aug. 27 and is scheduled to consider final adoption on Sept. 10. The permission-to-advertise vote does not adopt final appropriations; it begins the public-notice process required by state budget rules.