The Fort Wayne Community Schools senior staff on Monday presented its budget for 2014-2015 to the district's board of trustees during its regularly scheduled meeting.
The budget, described as "essentially flat" from last year's by FWCS Chief Financial Officer Kathy Friend, is requested to be approved at just shy of $290 million, but due to circuit breakers on property taxes, it is far more likely the district will have just north of $275 million at its disposal, with about $209 million of that allocated for General Fund expenditures. The General Fund is where salaries and benefits are derived for district employees.
The district provided information that an owner of a $100,000 home would see a tax bill of $329 next year, up from $320 this year. Part of the increase is linked to the building referendum that was passed by voters in 2012, with construction on some buildings in the district already started.
Some interesting tidbits were offered by Friend during her presentation of the budget, including the fact that about 70 percent of the district's students are now on free or reduced lunches, which is one metric to measure poverty and is a factor in how the district's complexity index is determined. However, Friend warned that as of July 2014, the state will shift that measurement to how many students receive free textbooks -- with no real feel as of yet how that may or may not impact district funding.
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The district has already advertised the budget, which is required by law. A public hearing is set for Oct. 14 for community input on the budget, the bus replacement fund and capital projects fund, while the budget is scheduled for a vote by the FWCS board on Oct. 28.
