The Walker County School Board is hosting two public hearings on its proposed budget for fiscal year 2017.
The first is Tuesday, July 12 at 5 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. school board meeting at the Advancing Education Center, and the second is Monday, July 18 at 5 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. school board meeting at the Walker County Board of Education building in LaFayette.
Citizens are welcome to voice their opinions on the budget at either or both hearings.
System Superintendent Damon Raines said the FY17 budget anticipates expenditures of $93,803,830 and revenues of $89,028,519. The FY16 budget included $79,378,200 of expenditures and $90,089,128 in revenue.
“We utilize our reserve balance to offset the difference,” said Raines. “We are running 6 percent under budget for FY2016. So, 4.5 to 5 million [dollars] goes in reserves to make up for the following year. It usually offsets the numbers.”
Raines said almost 90 percent of the budget is wrapped up in personnel costs. The budget calls for the addition of 31 positions and a pay increase for all the system’s employees.
“The board agreed to do a one percent salary supplement for all employees to say thank you to employees,” he said. “We are getting back this year to the number of employees we had when I took over. Our goal was to reduce class sizes and take some of the burden off the backs of teachers.”
The additional positions is part of Raines’ effort to reduce class sizes.
The budget also accounts for the addition of five student instruction days and the elimination of furlough days. A furlough day reduces the system’s budget by taking days or specific employees temporarily off the payroll. Last year, the district had two furlough days.
“The two furlough days are a little over $600,000,” Raines said previously of the cost of adding them back in. “Adding back five student days is $600,000.”
The superintendent just started his fifth year in the position, and said it’s always been his goal to eliminate furlough days and increase the number of student instruction days.
“It’s been part of the plan for the entire time I’ve been here,” he said. “You have to look at maximizing dollars. Our graduation rate has continued to climb every year. Our employees continued to do great things in a recession. We are glad to get back in line with the financial side of it as well.”