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wor
uil
ance
By NATALIE JOHNSON
In an effort to rebuild
a dwindling reserve fund,
the Shelton School District
plans to freeze $300,000 in
spending across three de-
partments before the end of
the 2012-2013 school year.
"We need to do what we
can to build it back up -
that is fiscal responsibil-
ity to the voters," Shelton
School Board member Sue
McCausland said. "I don't
like that feeling of being so
close to the
edge."
While
the school
board pre-
fers to
have an
ending
fund bal-
ance of 5
Sue percent of
McCausland the year's
budget
in its re-
serves, the ending fund bal-
ance from the 2011-2012
budget amounted to 2.52
percent of that year's bud-
get.
The school district's 2012-
2013 budget amounts to
$42.8 million. That means
the district hopes to have
about $2 million in its end-
ing fund.
That $300,000 freeze will
be divided evenly among
Journal photo by Natalie Johnson
The Shelton School District plans to freeze 8300,000 of spending across three departments before
the end of the 2012-2013 school year in order to help increase the districts ending fund balance.
The fund balance, used as reserves, has been decreased recently by projects such as replacing
the roof of Evergreen Elementary school, pictured above.
three departments -- main-
tenance, technology and
curriculum.
The school board ap-
proves the district budget
each August, for a bud-
get term from September
through the following Au-
gust. Because this year's
budget is set, the reduction
in expenditures is a spend-
ing "freeze" rather than a
budget cut, school district
director of finance Brenda
Trogstad said.
Each department head
will determine how best to
save the money, Trogstad
said.
"It's their call," she said.
Much of the budget, in-
cluding salaries for employ-
ees, can't be cut because it
is determined by union con-
tracts, Trogstad said.
"About 85 percent of our
budget is salaries and ben-
efits," she said.
A few unforeseen expens-
es significantly decreased
the district's reserves, Mc-
Causland said.
For example, in summer
2012, the district had to
replace Evergreen Elemen-
tary School's roof.
"It needed to be done,"
she said.
Also, in September 2011,
an arsonist burned down a
baseball clubhouse at Shel-
ton High School that several
students were building as
part of their senior project.
While insurance paid
for most of the work to re-
place the clubhouse, the
school district had to use
some of its fund balance
to finish the project, Mc-
Causland said.
While not all school dis-
tricts keep their ending fund
balances at exactly 5 per-
cent of their annual budget,
McCausland said they all
need to have enough money
in reserves to cover emer-
gencies, or to make payroll
for at least a month.
"Some districts have
more than that, and some
may have a little less," she
said. "It depends on the dis-
trict."
Mason Matters receives $
grant for 'World of Work'
Funds to prepare teens for work force
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