Spending could go down in District 30

District 30 Board of Education members got their first look at the tentative 2012-13 budget on Monday, a plan that would slightly reduce spending for next year.

The draft $32.4 million budget is about $6,700 less than the current school year. Lisa Rutkoske, the assistant superintendent for business, said the budget maintains all programs and services, and keeps class sizes about the same.

The budget maintains 66 regular classes in kindergarten through sixth-grade throughout the district next year, with enrollment projected to stay fairly steady. The budget eliminates one ESL position, a social worker and a technology teacher.

The biggest increase in the budget is for employee benefits. Rising costs for pensions and health insurance are adding about $500,000 for next year, Rutkoske said.

She also added $25,000 to the budget to help the district meet the new national Common Core Learning Standards. That money would help to pay for new textbooks and teacher and administrator training.

Additionally, the district will be looking for a new director of special education. That position would cost about $60,000 more than the money being paid to the current interim director.

Those increases would be offset through a variety of savings. One of the biggest savings is teacher salaries. Not only is there a salary freeze for all teachers next year, but seven faculty members are retiring. Those positions will be filled by younger teachers making lower pay.

Under the new tax cap regulation, District 30 is allowed to increase its tax levy — the total amount of money collected in property taxes — by 1.78 percent. The tentative budget presented by Rutkoske on Monday night raises the tax levy by 1.69 percent to $25.98 million. That’s $23,000 less than the maximum amount of taxes the district could collect. “Our budget would only require a simple majority for approval,” she said.

District officials are expecting about $5.1 million in state aid for next year, an increase of about $200,000. However, that increase is offset by the loss of more than $200,000 in federal stimulus money the district has received each of the past two years. Final state aid numbers won’t be known until the Legislature adopts its budget, due April 1. Rutkoske’s budget proposal also would use $1.175 million from surplus funds.

The next budget meeting is scheduled for Jan. 31 followed by a community budget forum on Feb. 1. Both meetings will be held at 8 p.m. in the Shaw Avenue School library.