ROGERS -- The School Board on Thursday unanimously approved a budget for the 2016-17 school year amid news of unexpectedly high enrollment growth.
The budget presented by chief financial officer Jake Haak projects total revenue at $132.8 million. It calls for spending about $130.8 million.
Enrollment
The Rogers School District reported enrollment of 15,408 this week. Here’s a look at the district’s enrollment figures as of Oct. 1 for the past five years:
• 2015: 15,077
• 2014: 15,027
• 2013: 14,757
• 2012: 14,452
• 2011: 14,145
Source: Staff report
That would be 9 percent more than what the district spent last year, but only 1.5 percent more than what was budgeted a year ago.
The district's expenditures were lower than expected last year thanks in part to cheap gasoline and good weather that kept utility costs low, Haak said.
As a result, the district transferred $8.25 million from its operating budget to its building budget to help take care of some capital projects, such as a roof replacement at Rogers High School and renovation of the New Technology High School building.
The district expects to end this fiscal year on June 30 with an operating fund balance of $23.6 million, which is 18.1 percent of this year's budget.
"I think the comfort for us for cash-flow reasons is going to be between 15 and 20 percent," Haak said. "It does help because in July and August, the revenue we're bringing in is down quite a bit."
Superintendent Marlin Berry said he was happy with the budget.
"I'm always pleased for our community that we can approach a new school year and keep the millage the same," Berry said. "To be able to do what we need to do in our schools, keep the millage the same, a very modest 1.5 percent increase in terms of our expenditures, and we're doing that with 300 more students. So overall I think it's a very tight but adequate budget."
The district's revenue from the state amounts to $6,646 per student. That's an increase of $62 -- about 0.9 percent -- over last year's figure. The state bases its payments upon each district's average daily enrollment of the previous year's third quarter.
Also included in the Rogers budget is about $2 million in growth funds, which the state gives districts based on their additional enrollment compared to the third quarter's average enrollment.
The district on Thursday reported enrollment of 15,408, a gain of about 330 students, or 2.2 percent, from about this time a year ago. That's the biggest enrollment jump the district has experienced in four years.
The district earlier this year projected a much more modest growth rate of 0.7 percent this fall. Berry said he's not sure what happened to spark the additional growth. Much of it is at the kindergarten level, he said.
The numbers have caused the district to re-evaluate its long-term enrollment projections, he said.
Berry presented board members a chart showing how enrollment has changed over the past 10 years. Enrollment grew 5.8 percent from 2006 to 2010 and 6.7 percent from 2011 to 2015.
Berry also distributed a packet containing information specific to each building, including enrollment by grade, enrollment from each of the past 10 years and square footage.
NW News on 09/16/2016