VB School Board holds budget hearing June 18

Van Buren Public Schools Finance Director Shareen Barker said expenditures for the 2017-18 fiscal year went up when Wayne County sent the school district an invoice for $300,000.
She told the board during its June 18 public budget hearing that the bill resulted from decisions by the state tax commission which granted appeals on property tax assessments.
Of the $300,000, she said $250,000 was for Wayne Disposal which fought the value set on some property in Van Buren Township and won.
The amended general fund budget for 2017-18, was $53,722,275 in expenditures with a fund balance of $8,099,427 (15.64%). Of that, $5,749,227 was unassigned.
The proposed budget for the 2018-19 school year is $54,715,365 in expenditures with a fund balance expected at the end of the fiscal year of $5,481,882 (10.52%). Of that, $3,131,682 is unassigned.
The district will be using $2,617,545 from the fund balance to shore up the 2018-19 budget.
The assigned fund balance holds $350,000 for football turf replacement in the future, with an addition of $50,000 at the end of each year; $400,200 enrollment reserve equaling 50 students; and $1.6 million in funds from the Wayne County RESA Enhancement Millage.
“We’re spending a lot more than we’re bringing in,” said board secretary Kevin English.
“We would like to have from 12-15% fund balance,” she said.
The property tax millage rate for 2018-19 will be: State Education Tax, 6 mills; Ad Valorem (Operating), 18 mills; Commercial Personal Property, 6 mills; Debt Retirement, 2.98 mills; and Building and Site Sinking Fund, 0.4917 (rolled back from the original 0.5 mills by Headlee).
Barker said the state foundation allowance is expected to increase by $225 per student, which would bring in $1,045,125 more this year.
She pointed out that the district lost 1,713 students in the last 11 years, but it is starting to level off.
There was a 6,358 blended student count in the 2006-07 school year and there are now 4,645 in the 2017-18 year.