From the Jeffersonville News and Tribune:
Though the board unanimously passed all three portions of the district’s 2013 budget, a third-party auditor warned that next year could prove fiscally rocky for Greater Clark County Schools.
Marvin Ward, a consultant and former chief financial officer of Brownsburg Community Schools, said without considering job cuts through attrition or other means, Greater Clark will set itself up for a $1 million defect by the end of 2013.
He said the depletion of the rainy day fund, property tax caps’ impact and decreasing enrollment all play a role in the budget, but the district needs to work with other government agencies in the county to try to alleviate some of the pressure.
“This isn’t just the school corporation’s problem, this is a community problem,” Ward said. “[Superintendent] Dr. [Andrew] Melin and I were talking before the meeting and you are the financial driver for this community. People won’t move here if your schools are not doing well.
“We need to make sure the county and city offices understand that and work with you in some cooperative fashion and help reduce [tax increment finance districts] and lessen the impact of the circuit breaker.”
He said the loss from property taxes — as a result of the caps — will likely be about twice what the district suffered last year, at about $936,000. But another key issue he said was outspending what the district makes every year — an average of about $2 million in expenditures versus revenues for the last five years.
But enrollment also brings up issues. The district’s enrollment declined by about 100 students this year and the amount of money it brings in per student also decreased by about $116. He said that alone will cost Greater Clark about $500,000.
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In other business at the meeting, the board voted unanimously to seek a transportation appeal from the state to offset the costs of additional routes and increasing fuel costs.
Thomas Dykiel, chief financial officer, said the state isn’t likely to give the district any additional funding for increasing fuel costs, but funding for the additional routes probably won’t likely be a problem to secure. He said the district has added those routes through several years, but never requested the additional money for them.
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http://newsandtribune.com/clarkcounty/x1200632856/Audit-of-Greater-Clark-finances-shows-tight-times-ahead
