School Board Expects $600,000 Surplus

Oak Park school officials, aided by unanticipated growth that led to a budget surplus, have adopted a 1996-97 budget that will allow the district to buy more classroom materials and perhaps increase teacher salaries.

With only two days to go, the 2,950-student district expects to end its current budget year with a $600,000 surplus.

“It’s a real big deal,” said Stanley Mantooth, the assistant superintendent of business services. “We have [never] had a budget surplus quite that good.”

Most of the extra money comes from an additional 110 students the district hadn’t included in its original 1995-96 budget projections.

For the past seven years, enrollment at the Oak Park Unified School District has steadily increased, according to Mantooth.

Earlier this month, the district adopted a $12.6-million budget for the next fiscal year that includes $83,000 extra for books, computers and teacher salaries. The new budget projects about 155 new students, bringing total district enrollment to 3,100 and generating about $450,000 in additional state funds.

A state cost-of-living increase of 3.21% will bring even more money to the district, said Mantooth.

And the spending plan is expected to swell by thousands more once the state approves its final budget this summer.

“There is still a lot to be decided upon in the state budget that could bring in more money,” Mantooth said. “It really is a watershed year for education, just like last year was after a long drought.”

The added funds will be used to hire five new teachers to accommodate the district’s new students.

But most of it, approximately 85 cents for each dollar, will be spent on classroom supplies and salaries for existing teachers, Mantooth said.

The 1996-97 budget includes money for promotional raises and a negotiated $1,300 annual increase for each district teacher. But Oak Park trustees are exploring ways to further increase teachers’ base salaries, which are lower than in some nearby districts.