Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. Superintendent Brett Boggs reviewed the 2016 proposed budget for the school board and the public Monday evening.
It totals approximately $23.6 million. No members of the public were present at the public hearing. The board will be asked to adopt the budget at its regular meeting Oct. 12.
Boggs reminded the board that they worked through the 2016 budget Aug. 17, going through in detail the five funds that make it up. The board also approved advertising the capital projects fund and bus replacement fund, which was published in the Times-Union Aug. 25.
The board heard that the advertised amounts can be reduced but never increased, so the school corporation advertises higher than what it anticipates it will be approved at by the state.
The first of the five funds Boggs touched on was the debt service fund, a need-driven fund used to pay obligations. Obligations Valley currently has and when they will be paid off include: Mentone Elementary, 2018; Tippecanoe Valley High School, 2024; a loan, 2022; and the wind turbine, 2026. The advertised amount for the fund for 2016 is $2,747,469.
The CPF is proposed at $2,798,484 for 2016. Boggs said school corporations are required to maintain a three-year plan for the CPF, which has to be reviewed and adopted annually. It has a capped tax rate and is need-driven.
All expenses related to student transportation except the purchase of new buses are paid for through the transportation fund. It was advertised at $1,760,680 for 2016.
In 2016, Valley plans to purchase three buses and one mini bus out of the bus replacement fund. The fund was advertised at $333,000 for next year. Boggs said schools are required to have a bus replacement plan for 12-year periods, and Valley tries to use its buses for 16 years.
Of the five funds, the general fund is the largest and it is used for day-to-day expenses. Boggs said it is no longer supported by local property taxes, but has been state supported since 2009. Valley’s general fund for 2016 was advertised at $15,999,515.
(Story By The Times Union)
