Carmel Schools Works to Eliminate Budget Gap
The Carmel School Board is digging into the district’s 2020-21 budget development, looking at reductions that have been made to close the budget gap and questioning some of the processes used to construct the spending plan.
During the Feb. 25 board meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Business Eric Stark told trustees that his team has been working to reduce the originally proposed budget of $135.6 million, which is about $5 million more than what is allowed under the state-mandated property tax cap.
About $500,000 was saved by moving some staffing positions to grant lines, and another $819,000 was saved through instructional cuts. About $600,000 was saved through retirements/attrition and class size reductions.
Additionally, about $218,000 was reduced in program reductions, including cuts to supplies for music, physical education and art programs; reduced field trip spending; cuts to equipment; reductions to summer curriculum; and more. And about $243,5000 was reduced in non-instructional cuts, including in the clerical, facilities and transportation lines, as well as technology leasing.
But the biggest reductions came from about $1.5 million being realized in changes to the way employee health insurance expenses are budgeted, and about $1 million reduced from the buildings and grounds budget.
Trustee Eric Mittelstadt took issue with administrators claiming they were able to “cut” about $1 million from the buildings and grounds budget.
“There’s $1 million more than should reasonably be asked for,” he said. “To say that we saved it, he (the facilities director) is looking for a 67 percent increase in buildings and grounds, and we know year after year we have to scrape by.”
Mitteslstadt said it’s “irresponsible” to ask for that much more in your department’s budget when you know the district’s budget can only grow by about 2 percent, per the state tax cap.
“That’s a discussion for a bond issue – if we’re $1 million behind with stuff we have to do, we have to discuss that,” he said. “But to put it up here as savings, I think that when people take a look at this and see we ‘cut’ a million dollars out of it – we weren’t really even looking for it. So the first number was artificially inflated, and then it was artificially deflated.
“I just don’t see the transparency in looking for money you don’t need,” he said.
Stark, however, explained that department heads are asked to provide a list of items that need to be addressed each year – even though they will undoubtedly be stricken from that year’s budget – as part of the process.
“I actually think it’s very transparent in showing exactly what it is that he thinks we need to do, and saying we just can’t afford to do it,” said Stark.
Superintendent Andy Irvin added that the facilities director is just bringing certain needs to the board and administration’s attention.
“There are things about our buildings that will have to go to a capital project at some point because we cannot afford to do them in our budgets,” he said. “But it is not responsible for us to not say that this is what we think we should be doing.”
Therefore, when the district does eventually ask taxpayers to approve a capital project, it has documented the needs, he said.
Trustee Matt Vanacoro agreed with his fellow board member that the process, or at least the language, is misleading.
“So I kind of understand his (Mittelstadt’s) point,” said Vanacoro. “Where are we going to get $1 million? And if we did – although it would be amazing to spend it on buildings and grounds – there are a lot of other things… So it’s a little weird for me to kind of view that as a savings or reduction. It really isn’t; he asked for another million dollars and we said no.”
Administrators, however, noted that the $1 million in “needs” is something that has been requested in the buildings and facilities budget for many of the last several years, and disregarded.
“These things didn’t just came up this year,” explained Stark. “A lot of the items in there were part of the budget conversation last year and were cut… They may continually be cut and may never be addressed until we do another capital project, but it’s important to have the conversation in order to keep our facilities up to date.”
Public conversations about the budget will continue March 3 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., and March 31 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., at the Carmel High School library, as well as at upcoming board meetings.
For more information about the development of the 2020-21 budget, and dates and times of upcoming meetings, visit carmelschools.org.
