At their monthly meeting on Thursday night the Carroll Community School Board approved the district’s certified budget for 2017, which covers the 2016-2017 school year, while earlier in the day the Iowa Legislature ratified state spending for Iowa school districts at 2.25%. In order to have their budget ready to submit to the Carroll County Auditor by April 15 members of the CCSD board based the budget on 4% supplemental state aid, which will now have to be adjusted, according to Superintendent Rob Cordes.
With numbers based on a higher estimate of state aid the $31.7 million fiscal year budget for 2017 calls for a total tax rate of $9.11 per $1,000 of taxable valuation; which is a 32 cent increase from 2016. The district’s cash reserves include $500,000, or 56 cents per $1,000, to fund for next year’s budget, and a portion of the 50 cent property tax produced from the Instruction Support Levy (ISL) will generate $468,929. The first ISL payout will be disbursed after April of this year, and will be applied to the 2016 budget. Board President Duane Horsley cited the timeliness of those ISL funds.
That’s Director of Business Affairs Gary Bengston who adds that fixing a budget shortcoming isn’t just dependent on cutting spending, but also includes incoming revenue.
Bengston reported that less than 4% of the district’s General Fund is supported by federal funding. Back closer to home Iowa’s Governor still needs to sign the legislature’s 2.25% education spending bills, but Governor Terry Branstad is expected to sign the approved bills which were passed in the House and Senate.
