Stable enrollment and additional infusions of capital spending are among the preliminary considerations in play as Whitewater Unified School District officials begin assembling a budget for the 2022-23 school year.
While the next fiscal year does not officially begin until July, school districts typically begin drafting out budget documents months in advance to set projections and priorities.
Ben Prather, business manager of WUSD, hashed over some of his tentative proposals as he issued a report to the School Board at a meeting Jan. 24.
In his cursory overview, Prather said his desire is to infuse $1 million into Fund 41, the portion of the budget designated for capital spending.
“There’s a lot that we have neglected,” Prather said of large- and small-scale facilities-related projects across the district.
While there is hope WUSD will reverse prior enrollment declines, Prather said his budget forecast model calls for a flat figure.
“I’m a conservative budgeter when it comes to revenues and expenses,” he said to the board as he explained his philosophy of projecting out.
Since the upcoming school year budget will be in the middle of the state’s biennium budget, Prather said he is not expecting any fluctuations in state financial support, including the revenue limit, per-pupil aid and any of the categorical aides.
Other assumptions at this time include 4-percent increases each in health insurance costs and employee salaries.
Since this was one of the first glimpses into the district’s budget for the upcoming year, Prather and the School Board will have deeper talks about the various components in the months ahead.
“When you build a budget, you make assumptions, and this is where our assumptions are at right now,” Prather said. “We’ll discuss this more, with the different factors and variables.”
