Goodrich- A combination of declining enrollment, sagging state revenues and a few untimely expenditure increases have created a rather bleak economic outlook for the school district in the 2010-11 fiscal year.
A preliminary budget of $18,322,541 is proposed for the 2010-11 school year with revenues of $16,313,792.
School District Superintendent John Fazer, along with schoolboard members will now grapple with a $2,008,749 deficit as deliberation over the next budget gets rolling in the next few weeks.
‘Many districts our size across the state are dealing with a $2 million deficit,? said Fazer. ‘The shortfall is not due to how the district spent the money over the last few years, rather it’s the fact the state cuts districts out of millions. In addition, enrollment is dropping. Consider too, Genesee County’s student enrollment has dropped down to 75,000.?
Fazer presented a financial overview at the school board meeting on Monday. The budget will be complete in June for the 2010-11 school year.
Despite a healthy $3,712,294 fund balance concluding the 2009-10 fiscal year which will end in June, Fazer outlined a budget that will draw the account down to $2,539,126, a reduction of about 31 percent. The fund equity is the excess of the district assets above its liabilities (what the district owns minus what it owes).
Several factors will impact the new budget, including a drop in per-pupil funding of $433, reducing the amount from $7,316 per student to $6,883. In addition, the district recently settled a $576,375 debt following a 2008 ruling from a Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) judge who ruled the school district illegally removed 14 days from the school calendar without collective bargaining. The decision stems from an April 2005 proposal to the Goodrich Education Association by the board of education, promising no layoffs of certified teachers if they agreed to work 14 fewer days.
The scenario may worsen if student enrollment continues to drop. The district realized a decline in enrollment of 35 students in the September count’an enrollment drop of about 100 over the next three years is projected, said Fazer.
The budget will be discussed at the April 26 school board meeting.