KRUM — School board members have adopted a balanced 2012-13 budget and hired eight new teachers to accommodate the district’s nearly 6 percent increase in student growth.
Adopted with a 6-0 vote last week, the budget’s expenses and revenue for the general fund are projected to total more than $16.86 million, according to district documents. The district is projecting balanced debt service, employee child care and food service budgets, documents indicate.
According to district figures, debt service expenditures for 2012-13 total more than $3.16 million, employee child care totals nearly $214,000 and the tab for food service is expected to cost more than $751,000.
The budget takes effect today.
Superintendent Mike Davis said $725,653 in reserves will be used to fund additional construction costs for band hall and agriculture barn additions at the high school and to offset some child nutrition and employee child care costs.
An 8 percent reduction in state funding is projected for the 2012-13 year, Davis said. The district took a 10 percent reduction in state funding for 2011-12, making deep cuts less extensive for the new school year, he said.
“We cut more than we needed to cut first so that we could have a better survival,” in the 2012-13 year, Davis said. “We’re going to hold our own, I hope. Ride out the storm, if you will.”
Because it took a large chunk of the state funding reduction for the 2011-12 year, the district knew what to expect when it planned for the 2012-13 year, board President Phil Enis said.
Additional costs for the new school year include increased fuel and energy costs and new teacher salaries.
No pay increases — excluding step pay increases for employees on the teacher salary scale — are slated for Krum’s 254 employees in the 2012-13 year, Davis said. Salaries account for about 75 percent of the district’s overall general fund budget, he said.
Taxable property values for Krum are projected to decrease, Davis said, but at this point the district does not anticipate any change to its property tax rate of $1.54 per $100 valuation. Once values are known, the district will evaluate whether it’s able to make its debt service payments, and if needed, additional expenses for the district’s debt service fund will also be offset with reserves, he said.
The district intends to set a tax rate after certified values are known. Values are slated for release next month.
BRITNEY TABOR can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is btabor@dentonrc.com.
