Board Approves 2013-14 Expenditures

LINCOLN — A proposed budget of expenditures was the single agenda item on a special called meeting on July 17 of the Lincoln School Board.

Board members Scott Davis, Connie Meyer and Dax Moreton, president, voted to approve the 2013-14 school expenditures budget that must be sent to the state this month. Jim Ayers and Kendra Moore were absent.

The board approved salary expenditures of $4.4 million; instruction and pupil support of $3.3 million; maintenance and operations of $ 1.2 million; transportation $550,000 with other at $110,000; debt payments $ 80,000; debt transfer $ 391,804, debt service payment $860,000 and transfer building fund $499,878.

Moreton said there are a lot of discussion points regarding these expenditures, adding a workshop for the board will be scheduled this week to “better under- stand” the expenses of the district.

The district has had to follow an austere spending plan after a 2012 state review of its finances.

The district’s largest cost is personnel, which has been trimmed to improve finances. A good portion of the district’s financial problems had been due to a loss of students.

An early intervention program the state legislature adopted a few years ago helped the state Education Department alert the district to what it considered a danger zone due to projected balance of $ 1.8 million in 2011 and ending balance of $ 1.4 million, however the district was not put on an early intervention watch list.

Mary Ann Spears, superintendent, told board members on July 15 the district had $ 1.7 million at the end of June but was expecting more property tax reimbursements to come in and the district had just received $133,000 in federal money.