District 93 riding budget roller-coaster
AMMON, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK)-Bonneville School District #93 auditors report COVID-19 had a number of different impacts on district operations this year. The fiscal year ended June 30, 2020.
In March, Governor Brad Little announced a 1% budget holdback. That reduced District 93 revenue by about $750,000. But, because school district buildings were closed from the end of March to the end of May, the district banked considerable savings in operational costs for things like utilities and substitute teachers.
The Governor ordered an additional 5% holdback after the legislature approved the 2021 Public School Budget. That holdback was restored as discretionary funding, but the auditors do not yet know the full impact of that decision.
The district has been awarded numerous Coronavirus Relief funds.
The district’s long trend of increasing student enrollment ended in 2020 and stayed relatively flat compared to last year. Usually, that would have a big effect on the district’s state funding, but the State Board of Education has authorized schools to be funded on enrollment instead of attendance for the coming year, so budget projections remain accurate.
Because the district did not experience the kind of growth it has seen in recent years, it did not qualify for $1.5 million in Emergency Levy Property Tax Funds, that were budgeted in Fiscal Year 2021. The district will use funds from prior year savings to cover the revenue reduction.
School officials said they will be very cautious with staffing levels moving into 2021, since that is where close to 90% of the operating budget is spent.
