Fy 2010 Budget

 

Press Release

Rochester School Department Budget

The Rochester School Board had its first look at the School budget on January 26th at a Special Board meeting. Mrs. Linda Casey, Business Administrator, and Mr. Michael Hopkins, Superintendent, presented the information about the budget proposal to the Board. The Board will begin reviewing portions of the budget in sub-committees and set priorities based on the recommendations of the management team. The budget proposal is available online at: http://www.rochesterschools.com/SAU/board/budget2010.html .

This is the first budget presented under the tax cap requirements. The budget as presented is $54,604,160, an increase of expenditures of 6.5%. This budget proposal will allow the current programs to remain in place, and with the proposed State Education aide increase of 2.9 million dollars, remain under the tax cap requirements.

The tax cap calculations are based on local tax dollars of $21,691, 706 in FY 2009. The CPI average has increased 3.8% and the tax cap would allow the FY 2010 local tax calculation to be $22,515,991. The proposed budget, with State Revenue does not require all of the local tax increase to fund the proposed budget.

Mr. Hopkins and Mrs. Casey presented several options, based on the uncertainty of the State increase in adequacy funds. Option #1 is a budget increase of $824,285. This is based on additional revenue from the State. The District will need to plan for this possible scenario, since the Board may not know about the State Revenue until June of 2009.

Option #2 is based on the possibility of State aide and a local tax increase under the cap. This option would allow an increase in the budget expenditures, equal to the 3.8% CPI increase, using State adequacy aide to keep the local tax under the cap.

Option #3 is based on enough additional State aide to fund the expenditure increase equal to the 3.8% CPI, but without using any additional local tax dollars.

Option #4 is $54,168,435 is based on the increase in the State Aide of $2,900,000 without any increase in local tax dollars.

The Board will consider adjustments to budget proposal over the next two months, with a budget presented to the City Manager and the Council by March 25, 2009.

The budget as proposed has the following areas of significant change: Wages increased $1,571,787 or 3.1%, Health Insurance $455,407, or .9%, Retirement, $378,910 or .7%, General Supplies/books, $203,755 or .4%, Cash CIP program, $202,500 or .4%, Other Benefit increases, $150,521 or .3%, plus some other small increases.