The Examiner U-46 News Feed

Without comment, U-46 approves its latest budget

By Seth Hancock
  The Board of Education in School District U-46 unanimously approved, by a 7-0 vote, the Fiscal Year 2024 budget that increases spending by $86.4 million ($689 million to $775.3 million), a 12.5 percent increase, at its meeting on Monday, Sept. 25.
  A public hearing, originally scheduled for Sept. 11, was held that evening. No public comments were made.
  This will be the ninth straight year of spending increases with enrollment declines. It projects a 2.9 percent drop in student population from 35,049 to 34,026 with only 61 percent of building capacity used.
  There was no board discussion on the ongoing, long-term trends.
  Although not discussed at the meeting, the budget appeared to correct an anomaly caught by The Examiner in the tentative budget from August which showed enrollment data from previous years significantly off.
  The original budget proposal stated “equity,” not education, is the budget’s “mindset” by spending taxpayer dollars “to areas of greater need as well as addressing climate and culture issues.” Spending is “based on need rather than enrollment alone,” the proposal stated.
  “This year, we tried some new approaches such as budgeting with an equity lens and deeper stakeholder engagement,” said Frank Williams, assistant superintendent of finance.
  Revenue is set to increase by $57.2 million ($689.8 million to $747 million), an 8.3 percent increase, for a $28.4 million deficit.
  However, the budget is considered in balance with a $21.6 million surplus based on government financing rules as $50 million in spending comes from other financing sources, that being the issuance of bonds after the voter approved referendum last spring.
  The largest increase in revenue is in the so-called “evidence-based” funding from the state, $242.9 million to $275.7 million ($32.7 million increase). The district plans to seek the largest property tax increase allowed under the law with that revenue increasing $12 million ($330.7 million to $342.8 million).
  The largest expenditures are salaries and benefits, increasing 8.2 percent from $448.9 million to $485.9 million. Staff is expected to remain flat at 4,794.
  The largest spending increase is capital outlay, $53.3 million to $111.2 million, based on capital projects funded by the new bonds.
  The three-year budget forecast shows spending increasing to $803.5 million by 2026-2027. Enrollment is expected to decline by around 1,000 students a year, eventually to 30,924.
  If the forecasts are realized, spending will have increased by 86.9 percent ($430 million to $803.5 million) and enrollment declining by 24 percent (40,687 to 30,924) since 2012.