The public will have a chance to contribute their two cents to the 2006-07 Clarkston School budget on June 26. The Clarkston School Board will have a public hearing prior to voting on the budget at 6 p.m during their meeting.
On June 19, the board had a final workshop meeting to discuss the budget and financial issues the district may face over the next fiscal year.
Prior to the workshop, budgetary issues caused disagreement between board members. In April, the board voted to approve over $2 million in budget cuts ? including class size increases and making certain clubs ‘pay-to-play.?
At the April 24 meeting, Koval protested the budget cuts, but was overruled. On June 12, financial issues caused dispute between board members again when Trustee Joan Patterson voiced her disapproval for giving raises to district employees so soon after making cuts.
At the June 19 workshop, however, there was less debate. The workshop focused primarily on answering any questions board members may have about the budget prior to the public hearing.
According to projections presented by Bruce Beamer, executive director of business services, the district is already expecting to post a $2.8 million deficit at the end of the current fiscal year and the projections for the 2006-07 fiscal year show the possibility of a $5.8 million deficit. However, Superintendent Dr. Al Roberts is not surprised by the downturn.
‘This is a planned deficit,? Roberts said. ‘The budget is the way it is because of inflation in health care and insurance and things of that nature. If we had those things under control, this would not be an issue… this really is a state-wide issue.?
Deputy Superintendent David Reschke said enrollment is likely to remain flat over the next year, so there will be no additional income from per-pupil state funding. And while Reschke said he gets daily phone calls from people outside the district interested in enrolling their children, he and Roberts expressed concern that open enrollment is an unlikely solution.
‘You’d be really hard pressed to convince me that general open enrollment is good for a school system,? Roberts said.
Vice President Stephen Hyer expressed his concerns over ‘aggressive? estimates in regards to the current budget, and his expectation that the deficit will likely be larger than projected.
‘To me alone, (the current estimates are) kind of stretching a bit because in terms of where we’ve saved some dollars in the past, we’re thinner and thinner on all those items,? Hyer said. ‘I think we’re being maybe a little aggressive with these numbers and obviously we’re going to amend them as soon as we know, but at that point, we’ve made our bed.?
According to Hyer, to meet current projections, the district would have to spend only 95.5 percent of their budgeted expeditures for the current fiscal year, which is approximately two percent less than their average. Failing to meet that goal would require spending an even lower percentage of next year’s expenditures, which Hyer said is not possible.
‘I’m not suggesting any course of action, I think we need to be aware of it,? Hyer said.
Reschke assured Hyer that administrators are aware of the long term-effects of the district’s spending are trying to plan accordingly. Beamer stressed that the current projections are the best estimates they can make with the information they have, and that the situation is likely to change over time.
‘Our budget is setup based on not receiving any adjustments, which I can guarantee you one thing, will be wrong,? Beamer said.
The public hearing for the Clarkston School 2006-07 budget begins at 6 p.m. on June 26 in the Administrtation Building’s board room located on Clarkston Rd.. Immediately following, the board is expected to take action on the budget.