The St. Charles Parish School Board unanimously approved a $156-million budget for the 2012 fiscal year, which began on July 1.
Of that total, $105,079,737, or 67 percent of the budget, goes towards employee salaries and benefits.
Almost $72 million of the $105 million is set aside for salaries, while $33 million is dedicated for benefits. Teachers combine for about $39 million of the budgeted salary total, while $3.7 million is budgeted for principals, assistant principals and administrative assistants.
School Board members are set to make $78,000 as a group, while $150,000 is budgeted for Superintendent Rodney Lafon.
The rest of the salary money is budgeted towards central office personnel, teachers’ aids, therapists, bus drivers, custodians, librarians, secretaries, nurses and other employees who are not classified as teachers.
As far as benefits are concerned, retirement and insurance make up a large majority of the $33 million total.
Retirement benefits for all employees amounts to $15.9 million in the budget, while employee insurance is $13.8 million.
St. Charles Parish Public Schools is the largest employer in the parish.
The budget includes approximately $124 million in the district’s General Fund, $12 million in Capital Projects Funds, $8.5 million in Special Revenue Funds, $6 million in the Lunch Fund and $5.5 million in Debt Service Funds.
While the numbers may seem high to most, the schools have been losing funding to certain programs each year and this year is no different.
“We are approaching this year very conservatively,” Lafon said.
During the July board meeting, Lafon said that state funding through the Minimum Foundation Program has no growth for the third year. With continuing reductions of state funding, the burden falls on the local revenue to keep up with increasing costs, he said.
“The governor and legislators continue to not step to the plate for our kids,” Lafon said.
But so far, St. Charles public schools are in better shape than many others across the country. With a fund balance of more than $18 million projected for the end of this fiscal year, the board has stayed in the green while many other school districts are far in the red.
“We feel that the (fiscal year) 2011 budget has come out right on target – it allowed us to accomplish many things that were part of the board’s Long Range Goals while leaving us in sound financial position going into (fiscal year) 2012,” said Jim Melohn, chief financial and administrative officer for the district. “The board understands the importance of maintaining an adequate fund balance…their proper approach to budgeting keeps us in a position to maintain our excellent academic programs, competitive teacher salaries and excellent benefits for teachers.”
While revenues from the state are down, General Fund expenditures are up from last year by more than $4 million.
The budget provides for a projected increase in health insurance and retirement costs, continued funding for bus replacement and continued funding for major maintenance and capital improvement projects.
General Fund
The General Fund makes up the vast bulk of the budget each year and includes instruction, support, food service and community expenses.
Expenditures in this fund have increased by $4 million from last year – an increase that school officials say is primarily due to an increase in health insurance and retirement costs.
About 73 percent of this fund, or about $91 million, is dedicated to what the state considers expenses related directly to instruction, including teacher salaries, teaching materials, textbooks, special education programs and more.
The average teacher’s salary in St. Charles Parish is about $53,730.
Melohn said in February that the average teacher salary in St. Charles is more than $3,500 higher than the state average, accounting for about $3.5 million in expenses each year.
“We want to attract the best and brightest teachers so we do that in the salary schedule,” he said.
The district falls well within the state’s goal of having each board spend 70 percent on instruction, Melohn said. It is also above the national average for school boards who spend about 65 percent on instruction, he added.
Other salaries and benefits drawn from the general fund go to non-instructional employees.
The largest portions of the fund go to salaries for all employees, more than $71 million, and employee benefits, about $33 million. Other chunks include about $6 million for equipment, including parts and upkeep, about $2 million for contracted services, $1 million for books and periodicals, $2 million for materials and supplies and $3 million for utility costs. More than $3 million is budgeted this year for technology, an initiative to try to bring students into a more 21st-century classroom.
Capital Projects Funds
More than $12 million of the district’s fiscal year 2012 budget is allocated for acquisition, construction and maintenance.
The expenditures include completion of two new wings at Harry Hurst and J.B. Martin middle schools, gym renovations at the two schools and repair and upkeep of other district structures.
The two additions to Hurst and J.B. Martin are the first wings that the district has added in 10 years.
Travel
Some members of the public have complained at recent School Board meetings about what they perceive as excessive travel by school district employees.
This fiscal year, $361,589 is budgeted for travel by the district. This includes $35,000 allocated for School Board members and $18,000 allocated specifically to the superintendent.
The largest amount in the travel budget is $57,096 for travel by teachers, staff and instructional supervisors. Travel expenses include out-of-state travel, mileage reimbursements within the parish and convention registrations.
Revenues
The schools have a significantly increased amount of local revenue for this fiscal year. Local revenues for the General Fund are projected to rise from about $89 million last year to $95 million this year, a difference of almost $6 million, due to an increase in Ad Valorem, or property, taxes.
The increase in property taxes is probably due to an increase in the price of oil stored at local plants and construction at the plants that is coming off a 10-year exemption.
Because of this and other increases, total revenue for the General Fund is projected to go from about $117 million in 2011 to $124 million in 2012, despite state funding cuts. That total amount is split almost evenly between money from property taxes and sales taxes, which should bring in about $42 million.
During the board meeting, Melohn described sales tax revenue as a “kind of roller coaster” with good years and bad years. This year’s sales tax collection is projected to increase revenue by about $1.6 million for the schools’ General Fund.
Local revenue also includes the sale of surplus property, tuition and fees, rental facility fees and interest on investments.
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