Reduced revenue and higher expenditures have left Hamburg School District down nearly $872,000 compared to this time last year, according to Finance Director John Spradlin during the Feb. 13 board meeting, but the district is still well in the black.
The employee raises the board budgeted for this year account for a significant portion of the higher expenditures — $130,000. The district’s debt service related to improvements that have been made in recent years also increased by $54,000, Spradlin said.
The bulk of the decline on the balance sheet is less revenue. It makes up $566,000 of the difference between this year and the previous year, he said.
A big part of that is that the district is $215,000 below where it was on collecting taxes at this time last year, though Spradlin said he ultimately expects the district will be able to collect that amount.
HSD isn’t alone on being low on tax collection this year. At Crossett School District’s meeting the same night, CSD Finance Director Norman Hill said that district was also behind on tax collection.
“The taxes are not coming in this year like they normally do,” Hill said.
Spradlin said the HSD’s balance sheets also reflect a loss in state foundation funding, which – among other things — includes money allocated based on student enrollment.
While the amount of foundation funding the schools are getting this year reflects a previous year’s decline, Spradlin said that HSD is currently up four students, so next year’s funding will hopefully not reflect another decline.
Another revenue loss the district is dealing with is the reduction in funding that the state gave specifically for raising teacher pay in recent years. While the initial pay raise came from state funds, the state portion of the funding is ratcheting down annually as districts absorb the cost. In Hamburg’s case, that reduction amounts to $223,000 less.
While the district is still financially healthy, board member Shawn Carpenter asked if the district could project that those numbers would continue to trend in that direction over the next few years.
Superintendent Tracy Streeter said it’s too early to tell at this point because the Arkansas General Assembly is considering several pieces of legislation that could affect funding or other obligations.
“Looking ahead, there are too many things on the table that could change, money coming in as well as money going out,” she said.
In other news:
• The board heard that HSD will not have a summer feeding program.
Streeter said that historically the district has had one, but it has changed a little every year as things changed — for example, when the Wilmot school was closed.
The change coming this year that prompted the request is a change to the summer school program.
“We are not having summer school this year, the biggest reason being that our data showed that we did not have enough gains (to justify it),” Streeter said. “In saying that, we don’t have any kids to feed in the summer other than day care kids.”
Administrators said that the day care students already bring a lunch from home during Thanksgiving and spring breaks, when no cafeteria is offered, and that they enjoy doing so and parents do not complain.
• School administrators presented mid-year data measuring student progress on benchmark tests. They also discussed professional development plans for teachers and plans to work with consultants.
• Hamburg High School Principal Eddie Tucker announced that from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 27 the school will host a program for students interested in earning credit toward a technical degree while in high school.
• The board voted to purchase digital radios for the busses and to partner with the Ashley County government to use its radio tower repeater system so that the bus radios have no dead zones.
