Once again, Crothersville Community School Corp. expects a decrease in its general fund budget.

Between the 2015 and 2016 budgets, the drop was nearly $1.4 million. According to 2017 projections, it may go down another $370,000.

The general fund, which pays for employees’ salaries and benefits, day-to-day operations and maintenance, for this year is $3,610,812. Next year, it’s projected to be $3,240,812.

Superintendent Terry Goodin said it comes down to a change in the state funding formula and how school corporations are funded.

While it affects all school districts, it can be particularly challenging for ones the size of Crothersville, which has nearly 490 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

“The state is continuing to cut,” Goodin said. “The general fund, that’s where you pay all of your employees, and that’s where you pay the electric bills and everything like that, so as that number gets smaller, it makes a direct impact on what you can do.”

Crothersville has not replaced some employees who have retired in recent years, but it has found ways to maintain and even add programming for students.

Read the full story in Tuesday’s Tribune and online at tribtown.com.