School Budgets Increase Slightly Countywide for 2021-2022

Yearly budgets for public school in Jefferson County increased slightly from the 2020-21 school year to this school year, 2021-22.

Budgets were finalized by each school before the school year started and, as a formality, the Jefferson County Commission approved the budgets at the September 14 County Commission meeting.

The total budget for each school is comprised of ten different funds: the general fund, transportation, bus depreciation, tuition, retirement, adult education, non-operating, technology, flexibility, and building reserve. All of the schools’ non-operating budgets for this year and last were zero.

The amounts allocated in a school’s general fund for the current fiscal year were derived either from a school’s current enrollment numbers or a school’s average enrollment numbers over the three preceding school years, whichever is greater - this number is generally referred to as “average number belonging” or ANB. If the ANB used to determine the amount in the general fund increased from the previous year to the current year, the amount of money in the general fund increased, and if the ANB decreased, the school’s general fund decreased.

CARDWELL: Cardwell School’s total budget this year is $715,582, up 1.36% from last year. The school’s retirement, technology, bus depreciation, and building reserve funds are up from last year, while the general fund is down 6.2% from last year, due to a slight decrease in the school’s ANB, down to 36 this year from 40 last year. Cardwell School Clerk Lisa Morgan said the number of mills required to fund all the school’s budgets decreased from 87.99 mills last year to 82.82 mills this year. One mill represents $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value that is collected in taxes.

“Our mill levies are impacted significantly by our taxable valuations, which have also been declining significantly over the past couple of years, due to the closing of the mine in our district,” she said.

WHITEHALL ELEMENTARY: Whitehall Elementary School’s budget for this year is $2,935,756, up 9% from last year. The school’s ANB increased to 329 this year from 325 last year, resulting in a 3.3% increase to this year’s general fund. The school’s transportation, bus depreciation, tuition, and retirement funds all increased from last year, while the adult education, flexibility, and building reserve funds stayed at $0. The school’s technology budget fund decreased 0.7% to $21,712 this year.

WHITEHALL HIGH: Whitehall High School’s budget for this year is $1,830,325, also up 9% from last year. The school’s ANB increased from 138 last year to 144 this year, resulting in a 4.5% increase to $1,343,899 in the school’s general fund. The school’s transportation, bus depreciation, tuition, adult education, and flexibility funds increased from last year, while the building reserve and retirement funds stayed the same, and the technology fund decreased 1.2% to $21,102.