BROWNSTOWN
Brownstown Central Community School Corp.’s 2016 proposed budget only increased by a little more than 1 percent from this year.
The corporation’s proposed budget is $15,189,766, up from $15,019,671 this year.
All of the numbers will be reviewed by the Jackson County Council, and the public will have a chance to listen and ask questions during a hearing at 8 a.m. Wednesday at the Jackson County Courthouse annex in Brownstown.
On Tuesday, corporation business manager Harry Rochner and Superintendent Greg Walker will make a presentation to county commissioners.
The budget has to be approved by the council because Brownstown has an appointed school board, Rochner said. It will be up for adoption when the council meets at 6 p.m. Oct. 21 at the courthouse annex.
The biggest increase is in the general fund, which pays for employees’ salaries and benefits, day-to-day operations and maintenance.
It went from $10,306,985 this year to $10,512,154.
The general fund goes up when the corporation’s average daily membership increases, Rochner said.
The student count is currently at 1,677. Last year at this time, it was 1,609½, and that increased by one during the second count in February. But the main difference now is that kindergartners are counted as whole instead of half.
Both ADM counts determine how much revenue a school corporation receives per student. For Brownstown, that went from $5,536 this year to $5,672 for 2016.
The only funds to decrease were capital projects, going from $1,611,313 to $1,496,313, and transportation, going from $1,030,440 to $1,018,232.
The capital projects fund includes payment for any physical work that takes place at the school buildings and for technology purchases. Transportation funds are used to pay bus drivers and to repair and maintain buses.
During the school board meeting Sept. 8, a public hearing was conducted for the 2016-18 capital projects plan and 2016-27 bus replacement plan. No one spoke in favor of or against either plan.
Those will be up for adoption at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13 during the school board’s regular monthly meeting.
Rochner said the biggest capital projects expense for 2016 will be renovations of the restrooms near the main gymnasium in the high school. That costs $175,000, and work is expected to begin next summer.
The capital projects plan jumps to $1,508,204 in 2017 and goes back down to $1,486,813 in 2018.
Each year, Rochner said he lays out a 10-year plan, but only three years are published.
“I plan ahead for big expenditures like roofs and boilers and large computer replacements,” he said. “Each building has its own (plan), and then it’s broken down by the account and categories that it’s spent.”
With the bus replacement plan, Rochner said the amount varies each year depending on what type of buses to be replaced. Of the corporation’s fleet of 34, there are two special education buses, two mini buses and the Brave Bus, which is mainly used for athletics. The rest are regular-sized buses.
This year’s bus replacement fund is $195,000, and that increases to $249,000 in 2016. Rochner said the corporation is replacing two buses next year, including a special education bus that costs $148,000.
In 2017, the fund jumps up to $315,000 because three buses will be replaced.
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Brownstown Central Community School Corp.
Three-year capital projects plan
2016: $1,496,313
2017: $1,508,204
2018: $1,486,813
Twelve-year bus replacement plan
2016: $249,000
2017: $315,000
2018: $327,000
2019: $386,600
2020: $351,000
2021: $366,000
2022: $381,000
2023: $446,000
2024: $342,500
2025: $426,000
2026: $444,000
2027: $308,000
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Fund;2016 proposed;2015 adopted
General;$10,512,154;$10,306,985
Debt service;$1,346,000;$1,346,000
Capital projects;$1,496,313;$1,611,313
Transportation;$1,018,232;$1,030,440
Bus replacement;$249,000;$195,000
Rainy day;$568,067;$529,933
Total;$15,189,766;$15,019,671
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What: Jackson County Council meeting
Where: Jackson County Courthouse annex, 220 E. Walnut St., Brownstown
When: 8 a.m. Wednesday
On the agenda: Public hearing for the Brownstown Central Community School Corp. budget
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