A budget hearing for Leyden School District 212 will be held at the school board’s session on Thursday. The budget was first presented at the August board meeting.
The board meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the East Leyden campus.
Expenditures for the 2018-2019 school year are budgeted at $83,693,585, according to Chief School Business Official Patrick Hatfield. Revenues for the school year are $85,225,258.
In the budget for the 2017-2018 school, year expenditures were budgeted at $75,726,909 with an expected revenue of $80,811,369.
According to Hatfield the major differences in expenditures between this year and last are attributable to normal growth in costs. Among those are salaries health insurance and facility utilities. Also, some are for professional services related to the significant construction with ongoing renovation projects at the district, including engineering, and a scheduled “ramp-up” on district debt repayment.
A majority of the budget is accounted for by salaries, which Hatfield says typically represent 62 percent of the education fund’s total expenditures. When adding together salaries and benefits, the total accounts for closer to 80 percent of the expenditures.
According to Hatfield the 80 percent estimate does take into account ongoing faculty contract negotiations, but the budget may be amended later by the board if necessary.
“I don’t see that percentage changing for next year,” said Hatfield.
Leyden is also continuing to spend on improvement projects in this budget.
“I think you’re continuing to see Leyden make investments now that will help save money down the road,” said Hatfield via email, citing construction and renovation projects on both campuses. “While we are obviously trying to improve the aesthetics and learning environment for our students, we are taking prudent steps to ensure greater energy efficiency and reduce the cost associated with ongoing maintenance.”
The construction and renovations have been a big expenditure for the district.
“We have over $50.6 million in the budget for 2018-19 that includes the final spend down at West [Leyden],” said Hatfield.
He said the majority of the $50.6 million will be spent on the addition at East Leyden, which will include a new aquatics center, the courtyard and a new commons area that is a combined cafeteria and office space.
