BROWNSTOWN
Brownstown Central Community School Corp.’s enrollment has declined in recent years, resulting in revenue going down, too.
This past year, though, Assistant Superintendent Jade Peters said state legislators helped by directing more money to schools, so Brownstown saw a revenue increase.
“We have to thank the legislators for that,” he told the board of school trustees during a recent 2022 budget workshop. “They stepped up to the plate. The biggest amount they’ve given to education since I’ve been been in this job was this past year.”
Peters said the corporation currently is operating on $10.6 million in the education fund, which comes from the state based on average daily membership, or enrollment, and covers expenses for teachers, aides, secretaries, school supplies, library expenses, etc.
This year’s budget was based on 1,486 students. While enrollment as of mid-August was down to 1,464, the corporation is seeing higher revenue due to the new legislation where it received $7,200 per student from the state.
“They’ve helped flatten that rate or get us going the other way by giving the schools more money,” Peters said. “That’s how we got an increase.”
Brownstown had 1,672 students in the fall of 2016, so with the ADM going down since then, the corporation feels fortunate to receive the state support.
“When we try to find a place to be leaner, we have to take advantage of those types of things,” Peters said. “That’s not going to hurt our kids. Our kids are still the No. 1 priority, but being lean, being efficient is also critical in our situation.”
For 2022, he has proposed an education fund budget of $10.8 million and an operations fund budget of $4.996 million.
The operations fund pays for administrators, administration office staff, maintenance, transportation, capital projects and utilities. That comes from local property taxes.
Peters said there are no major capital projects planned in 2022. Additional security cameras, an auditorium upgrade (video and lighting), a new storage building for records and supplies (moving from the bus barn so Director of Transportation Dan Fariss can work on buses) and a new truck for Director of Maintenance Randy Ude are expected next year.
Several big projects are planned for 2023, including carpet replacement and additional security cameras at the elementary school. More carpet would be replaced in 2024 and 2025, and the middle school gymnasium may receive attention in 2024.
Roofs at all three school buildings also will be assessed, possibly going with a white coating to create less heat and extend the roofs’ life 10 to 12 years until replacement can be done. The corporation has debt coming off in 2036, so roofs could be replaced then, Peters said.
As far as transportation, Peters said the corporation plans to buy two yellow minibuses and a regular bus next year.
The yellow minibuses were chosen because they have stop arms and can be used to take students home and drop them off at the road. The white minibuses the corporation currently has don’t have stop arms, so the driver has to pull into driveways to drop students off.
The idea is instructional aides or other school staff would be more willing and comfortable to drive the minibuses, which require less training than regular buses. Going that route would give the corporation more flexibility and save money, too, Peters said.
The debt service fund also comes from local property taxes. Peters said the corporation has four debts paid out of that, and the 2009 debt will be paid off in 2023-24. That means there could be a new building project with new HVAC at the elementary school being the priority.
Peters said he and Superintendent Tim Taylor also have talked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency about adding a tornado safe building at the elementary, and they learned the agency will pitch on the cost.
“Mostly after that, we won’t be able to do any big building projects unless we want to raise the tax rates until 2036, so there will be a pretty good gap there where we’ll need our buildings to be in pretty good shape until that point,” Peters said.
For 2022, the overall budget is $16.6 million. A public hearing is set for Sept. 15 during the Jackson County Council meeting at 8 a.m. at the courthouse, 111 S. Main St., Brownstown, and the council will consider adoption of the budget during a meeting at 6 p.m. Oct. 13. It’s done through that process because Brownstown has an appointed school board.
Also, during the school board meeting at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 14 at the administration office, 608 W. Commerce St., Brownstown, there will be a public hearing for the 2022-2024 capital projects fund plan and 2022-2026 bus replacement plan. Trustees will then consider adoption during their meeting Oct. 19.