In a year when funding cuts are normal and expected, Skyline has passed a $4.0 million budget and at the same time managed to reduce their LOB mil levy 0.2 percent.
The budget was passed Monday night at the Skyline Board of Education meeting after a budget hearing prior to the meeting.
Compared to the actual 2009-2010 budget of $3.7 million, the 2010-2011 proposed budget is $230,000 higher.
The biggest increase in the budget over 2009-2010 was the addition of the new virtual school, the Sawyer Academy. The costs are new and estimated at $72,600.
The mil levy went down from 26.662 percent in 2009-2010 to 26.462 percent for the 0.2 decrease. This is the third year in a row the mil levy has gone down, said Skyline Superintendent Mike Sanders.
“It’s small increments but it’s going down,” Sanders said. “When we can cut the LOB we’re good stewards of the taxpayers money.”
The 2010-2011 budget is just proposed and won’t become official until the Kansas State Department of Education audit in the spring of 2011.
The decrease in the mil levy came during a year when the base state aid per pupil was decreased to $4,012. That is $245 lower than the 2005-2006 BSAPP of $4,257 so the school is trying to operate the 2010-2011 budget using BSAPP less than it had five years ago, Sanders said.
When preparing the budget, Sanders has to estimate the number of students that will attend school. He always predicts a number he thinks will be higher than the actual number of students because if he is to low he has to redo the budget and then republish, Sanders said.
The district was able to reduce the mil levy for two reasons. The district was able to carryover $27,000 from the 2009-2010 Supplemental General Fund and that is about one mil.
The other reduction factor was the increase in assessments of about $3.7 million. With each mil bringing in more money it takes fewer mils to meet the district needs, Sanders said.
While the increase in assessments was good news for the district, it also meant that homes in the district were assessed at a higher value. District patron Fred Newby said the valuation on his home went up $32,000.
Sanders is expecting more cuts from the state so he hopes the combination of the carryover and the increase in assessments will allow the district to meet all their budget needs for 2010-2011.
“I’m hoping we can absorb those cuts,” Sanders said.
