The Baldwin County school system is preparing to operate on a leaner budget for the 2015-2016 school year, even as enrollment continues to climb by hundreds of students annually, according to a proposal presented to the county school board.
The system’s chief financial officer presented the seven-member board with a proposed budget totaling roughly $312 million for 2016, down from about $330 million the year before. That comes despite the district adding more than 350 students last year, with projections calling for as many as 500 additional students in the coming year.
Total revenue from local, state and federal sources is projected to rise slightly compared to 2015, an increase of about $4.4 million. A major piece of that local revenue, projected at roughly $113 million, comes from ad valorem taxes, which include property and probate taxes. That category brought in more than $45 million in 2015 and could top $47 million in 2016, up from around $42 million in 2014.
On the spending side, general fund expenditures are expected to total about $224 million, a decrease of nearly $7 million from the previous year. Administrative costs represent roughly 2.9 percent of the overall budget, close to a full percentage point below the state average, following about $2.2 million in administrative cost reductions implemented over the past year under the previous superintendent’s leadership.
The budget proposal arrives during a period of leadership transition for the district. An interim superintendent has been overseeing operations while the school board searches for a permanent leader, having recently interviewed five semifinalist candidates for the position. Board members have indicated that two or three finalists are likely to be brought back for additional interviews, though it remains possible none of the current semifinalists will ultimately be selected.
Whoever takes over the district will inherit a budget shaped by several looming financial uncertainties. Enrollment is projected to keep growing by roughly 2 percent annually, and officials warned that if voters do not renew certain property tax measures that failed earlier in the year, the district could see local funding drop by more than $8 million the following year. A separate penny sales tax generating tens of millions annually is also up for renewal in 2018, and its loss could cost the system upwards of $30 million.
Officials also flagged Alabama’s Foundation Program, the state’s primary school funding mechanism, as a source of ongoing complexity. Baldwin County’s revenue from the program is expected to rise to about $122 million in 2016, but the county’s required local match to the equity fund is also increasing by a similar amount, leaving the district covering only a portion of what state law requires it to spend per student.
Despite the tighter overall budget, the district maintains a substantial reserve fund, budgeting roughly $47 million for 2016, well above the one-month operating expense minimum required by the state and enough to cover about two months of operations. Officials described the reserve as a necessary cushion against potential future funding cuts, including the possibility that state lawmakers could reallocate education funding to cover general budget shortfalls.