Wow! According to a story published in the Northwest Herald this morning, District 158 hopes to squeak through with a balanced budget this year, with $14,000 or so to spare. When you look at estimated expenditures of approximately $72.6 million, that's not much of a cushion. For those of you humans who don't have a calculator handy, that's a hair under .02%. Now THAT is a tight budget!
According to the article, the numbers associated with the new teachers contract are not finalized yet, so there may be a bit of movement one way or the other, but Bongo applauds the board for standing firm and refusing to deficit spend, while still increasing the teachers' compensation packages.
Bongo said all along that the BOE should give the teachers as much money as they could... as long as they did not end up spending more money than they bring in.
Looks like the board is doing just that, and that makes Bongo very, very happy.
Still, many variables could still affect the bottom line, but that's when the true purpose of the fund balance becomes so important. If we have another ferocious winter and snow removal costs are higher than budgeted, its nice to know the emergency fund is there. If promised aid money from the state doesn't materialize, its nice to know the reserve is in place so employees can continue to get paid.
Four paws up, BOE. Bongo appreciates having seven watchdogs looking after his tax dollars.
No comments:
Post a Comment