Lindbergh School Board Hears 2012-13 Budget Projection

Last Saturday morning, Patrick J. Lanane, assistant superintendent for finance, told board members Saturday morning that the district has a crucial mission to maintain a balanced budget this year.

“This meeting is in fact the first step on a journey to a balanced budget,” Lanane said.

Since the 2007-2008 fiscal year, the Lindbergh School District’s budget has faced a cumulative loss of $18 million in revenue. On November of 2010, voters in the district passed Prop L, a 65-cent tax increase proposal which promised to “maintain class sizes, retain qualified teachers and eliminate deficit spending for day to day operations.”

After the passing of Prop L in April, the district has returned to its pre-2007 budget of more than $60 million. On Saturday morning Lanane met with board members in a special workshop to discuss a preliminary budget for fiscal year 2012-13.

Saturday’s workshop, Lanane said, was held to ensure all the board members were on the same page of understanding of the financial challenges and work ahead.

“But this discussion continues throughout the year,” Lanane said. “This is an ongoing situation; what you are seeing here today is preliminary—I can’t say that often enough.”

The board agreed on key budget reduction measures, among those are:

• $180,000 savings through the elimination of summer school for elementary and middle schools.
• $300,000 savings by placing a hold on the purchase of new textbooks for a year.
• $48,000 in savings with a new provider and method of district-wide trash and recycling service.
• $200,000 in sanings by revising several facilities operations of maintenance repair.
• A $50,000 expenditure reduction on business equipment.

With those reductions and more, the preliminary budget for 2012-2013 projects revenues of $60,998,867 and expenditures of $60,969,554, for a net surplus of $29,313.

Uknowns in the future

Lanane said the board needed to understand several scenarios that could change the proposed budget.

Among those scenarios is the resolution of the , which will determine whether suburban St. Louis County school districts, such as Lindbergh, should be required to enroll students who request transfers from unaccredited St. Louis city schools.

Lanane said the budget does not currently contain an expenditure allocation for this issue because it is still unresolved.

“It’s not wise to put it in (the possibility of new city students), simply because we just don’t know what the outcome of the case will be,” Lanane said.

Another unknown is the General Assembly's funding for public schools. With three weeks left before the end of this legislative session, the state’s Senate and House have not yet agreed on a budget.

Lanane also expects the level of local funding through taxes to remain constant, as well as current student enrollment projections.

Should any of those factors change, the board may need to hold future budget workshops to address the unknowns, Lanane explained.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Lanane said the most difficult part of Lindbergh’s economic situation has passed. He told board members that if nothing changes drastically, the board is fiscally responsible, and the local economy improves, the future for Lindbergh could be a bright one.

“There’s never been a time this school district hasn’t been in a tough economic position,” Lanane said. “But if the economy can get somewhat better, we will have some light that will shine.”