To an outsider, it would seem USD 257 had won the lottery.
Compared to last year, its budget is up an astounding $3.5 million from $9 million for its general fund.
Truth is, the school district will never see a dime of that increase.
“It’s all smoke and mirrors,” Jack Koehn, superintendent of schools, told board members in a review of the district’s budget to date at their meeting Monday night.
Koehn said the purported increase to its general fund is simply “passing through,” as it makes it way to KPERS, the state’s retirement program, and other programs, including special education.
Before this fiscal year, those funds had been dispersed directly from state coffers. Channeling it through individual school districts, however, “makes it look like the state is being more generous to schools, but please, don’t be fooled,” Koehn said.
Tony Leavitt, school board president, said the discrepancy between the truth and what is being spread around continues to pile up. At a legislative forum in Iola last month, State Sen. Caryn Tyson maintained schools in her district are getting more funding.
When Leavitt told her of the situation for USD 257, she feigned surprise.
The current block grant funding mechanism not only has frozen funds for district schools, but also reduced them by about 4 percent, said Koehn. On top of that, the state’s allotment for capital outlay, which provides for new construction, repairs, etc., has been significantly reduced. Were the district to build new schools, it could now expect a 36 percent boost from the state to help retire the bonds. Last year, the state’s share would have been 51 percent.
Board members kept this all in mind when they looked at a “snapshot” of the district’s budget with how it compares to each of the past two years as of Jan. 22, and found administrators have been able to keep expenditures relatively close.
A mild winter and low fuel prices have helped with the numbers, said Scott Stanley, director of operations. Also, the district’s new food service program, OPAA, has created some significant savings, Koehn said.
“For the first time, we’ve been able to bill the food service department for things like electricity used in the central kitchen,” Koehn said. “Before, that always came out of the general fund.”
In the district’s supplemental budget — which includes salaries and supplies — “where the rubber meets the road,” said Koehn, expenses have been cut by about $40,000.
The district has about $400,000 in cash reserves, Koehn said, “which is not a lot.
“I know of districts a lot smaller than us that have several million set aside.”
Such funds are crucial if a district experiences a calamity — such as a sudden reduction in state funds — or any of a number of structural problems.
