Burbank school officials review expected $147.2M budget for 2016-17 fiscal year
Students congregate at a bulletin board with room assignments on the first day of school at John Muir Middle School in Burbank on August 17, 2015.
During the next fiscal year, Burbank school officials expect to receive roughly $147.2 million in revenue, the vast majority of it from state officials who are sending about $2.9 billion into California schools starting July 1.
By the end of June 2017, Burbank Unified expects to have spent about $145 million locally, said David Jaynes, assistant superintendent of Burbank Unified.
He presented the school district’s budget to the Burbank Unified School Board during a meeting last Thursday.
Although the district’s budget does not include any “place holders” for salary increases, approximately $4.4 million could be set aside to support employees’ compensation packages, Jaynes said.
About 87% of Burbank Unified’s revenue goes to employees’ compensation, he added.
Currently, Burbank Unified receives $19.5 million in funds from Proposition 30, which voters passed in 2012.
The proposition allocated increased sales and income tax revenues to K-12 schools and community colleges through the end of 2018.
Burbank’s Proposition 30 funds go to pay salaries of credentialed teachers, Jaynes added.
An extension of Proposition 30, which would continue to tax individuals earning $250,000 or more per year, or families who earn more than $500,000, would place Burbank Unified in a “better financial situation,” according to Supt. Matt Hill.
Overall, school officials didn’t appear deterred by the current budget scenario, although they do project students’ average daily attendance to decrease, which is tied to declining enrollment. The figure is based on how many students show up for class and determines how much funding the district receives from the state.
During the next school year, the average daily attendance number is expected to drop by 124 students to 14,657, Jaynes said.
The district’s total enrollment is projected to be 15,132, down from 15,268 who were enrolled during the last school year.
“Although not huge, we are in a declining enrollment stage,” Jaynes said.
Burbank Unified expects to receive $9,963 for every student it serves in grades kindergarten through third grade and $7,721 for each fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade student.
The per-pupil funding the district receives for seventh- and eighth-graders will be $7,951, while the figure tied to high school students will be $9,452.
Another focus of the budget entails setting aside more funds than last year for deferred maintenance projects, a move advised by school board members.
District officials will set aside $613,900 during the 2016-17 fiscal year for maintenance projects, up from $250,000 they earmarked last year. The figure will raise to $996,800 during 2017-18 and hold steady at that amount for the 2018-19 fiscal year.
Board members plan to adopt the budget during their next meeting, scheduled for Thursday, said Larry Applebaum, board president.
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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com
Twitter: @kellymcorrigan
