Members of the Plymouth School Board began the process of working through their proposed budget on Monday night.
Brandon Penrod, a representative of EES Analytics, walked members through the process and some basic numbers before the start of the regular school board meeting reminding them of the deadlines and logistics for certain actions and findings before diving into some preliminary numbers for the various funds.
The numbers in the workshop budget are projections with the board being told that the initial published budget is purposely projected on the high end and the final tax rate will be lower than the advertised rate since all final numbers for the determination will not be available for the working budget.
The board started with projections on the Education Fund which is not supported by property taxes. The approximate amount that will be given in state aid for that budget will be just over $24.6 million for the coming year based on student enrollment in the previous year.
The projection is that there could be a slight increase in the budget from the previous year as salary and benefit items have increased but supply items have remained the same.
The state allows 15 percent of that amount to be transferred to the Operations Fund and it was anticipated that would be the corporation’s request for the coming year as it was in 2023.
Debt Service for Plymouth schools will be just over $5.9 million. That number includes the bond obligations of the school corporation but does not include another item added this year.
In their last session, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation that makes all textbooks free for all students. The state will give reimbursement to the schools of $151.88 for each student. If the amount exceeds that, each particular school corporation will have to decide whether to absorb that cost or pass it on to the students.
The Operations Fund that incorporates the old line items of Capital Projects, Transportation, and Bus replacement is proposed in the 2024 budget to be just under $7.9 million. That number is one that will likely be advertised higher than it will actually be. Up to 15 percent of the Education Fund can be transferred to cover costs.
Any Capital Project or expenditure of over $10,000 must be listed in this budget. Those items will be part of the upcoming public hearing.
The corporation is still finalizing the bus replacement numbers and will present those numbers in the public hearing as well.
The board will also request a $600,000 appropriation into the Rainy Day Fund.
While it is projected that the regular budget will see a decrease, it is projected the education budget will see an increase of about 5.7 percent. That possibility was explained by the education budget being funded by student enrollment and even though there may be a decrease in students, those that remain in the corporation will be credited at an increased amount.
The school will initially advertise a tax rate to be determined that is slightly higher than the current 1.0059 total tax rate and .5199 for debt service.
Those rates cannot be completely determined until the constant net assessed value (CNAV) is determined which has yet to be official in Marshall County.
The Plymouth School Board plans to hold a public hearing on the proposed budget for 2024 Tuesday, Sept. 5.
