LINCOLN -- The School Board recently approved a $14.1 million budget for the 2017-18 school year.
Lincoln's School District started the year with a $5.2 million balance. It projects to receive $13.7 million in revenue and end the year with a $4.7 million balance.
Projected revenue includes $6.1 million from state foundation aid (based on student enrollment), $3.1 million from property taxes, more than $900,000 from the National School Lunch and $1 million from federal programs.
Budgeted expenditures include $4.6 million for salaries for certified employees; about $5 million for operations, which includes employee benefits and salaries for most classified employees, maintenance, transportation and athletics; $858,138 for debt service; and $919,636 for food service costs.
Mary Ann Spears, superintendent, said revenue from state foundation aid is a little less than last year because enrollment numbers were down from 2015-16 to 2016-17.
The budget doesn't include raises but Spears said the school is studying that issue for the future.
"We'd like to get more competitive but we're not growing," Spears said. "We're not down a lot, maybe nine to 10 to 11 kids but it adds up."
Lincoln High School graduated 102 seniors in May. Some of the younger grades only have 60 to 70 students in them, Spears said.
The district doesn't have any capital improvement projects earmarked for this year. The drainage project at the high school is finished and the district is finishing up its project for the football field, fieldhouse and track. The track will be resurfaced so the high school can host district meets.
The school continues to review its food service program with Aramark. Participation among students is better, Spears said.
The food service program has always been in the black but last year, for the first time, it lost money and the district had to make up the difference from its operating fund. The district didn't have a $50,000 grant as in the past and that affected the budget last year, Spears said.
NW News on 10/14/2017