By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
April 20, 2011

“This has been a very difficult budget to develop because we’ve lost a lot of revenue,” said Rebecca Lee-Gwin, chief financial officer for Kansas City Missouri Public School District.

Lee-Gwin reviewed the proposed budget for fiscal year 2012 during an April 14 KCMSD public budget hearing.

For fiscal year 2012, KCMSD will lose a projected $13.6 million in state revenue and nearly $20 million in federal revenue.

Part of the federal revenue loss is due to the phasing out of stimulus dollars, effective Sept. 30, 2011, she said.

During fiscal year 2011, the school district cut its budget by $68 million and will need to cut another $37 million for fiscal year 2012.

Those cuts include $17.10 million from the operating budget, $18.98 million from grants and stimulus funds, and $1.09 million from the child nutrition fund.

Approximately 345 staff were cut, 105 of which were teachers.

Despite the cuts, the budget is balanced, she said.

“We’re very pleased to say that,” Lee-Gwin said. “To have a balanced budget is a very important thing. It means we have our expenditures within the current fund revenue.”

Having a balanced budget, she said, shows fiscal responsibility and helps the district receive better interest rates on loans.

The proposed fiscal year 2012 budget is $223.42 million with a reserve of $232,197.

That reserve is enough to fund school operations for less than three months, Lee-Gwin said.

“It’s really not much money,” she said of the reserve. “You really have to guard it or it could be wiped out in a hurry.”

Projected revenue includes $156.76 million from local taxes; $3.21 million from the county; $24 million from the State of Missouri; $36.92 million from federal funding; and $2.75 million from a fund transfer for a technology plan.

New initiatives

For years, KCMSD has neglected to adequately maintain its buildings and equipment, Lee-Gwin said.

“The best way is preventative maintenance, but we haven’t done that like we should,” she said.

To remedy this issue, KCMSD is setting aside $85 million in current funding from its Capital Projects Fund and will leverage current bonds.

Repairs will begin in September and will include roof replacement, heating and air conditioning upgrades, plumbing upgrades and lighting retrofits, among others.

“Every school will have a project for them,” she said. “Nobody is left out of this.”

Another new initiative is the Pioneer Grant, which will fund bonuses for teachers and principals that perform well.

Teachers can receive up to $10,000 each, she said.

Asked about enrollment, Lee-Gwin said KCMSD believes it’s on a “stable path.”

During the 2009 to 2010 school year, KCMSD lost approximately 1,200 students. Current enrollment is 17,104.

“We feel confident that we are going to stabilize with enrollment and that we are not going to lose large numbers of students again,” she said.