Warren Township High School District 121 will operate with a deficit of more than $1 million during the 2022 fiscal year under a budget approved Tuesday by the Board of Education.
The spending plan for the financially struggling district includes a total income of $71 million and expenditures of $72.5 million.
Those numbers represent the district’s total budget, but its operating budget includes $62 million in revenue and $63.1 in expenditures. The remaining amount that is factored into the total budget covers bond payments, capital projects, tort funds and other expenditures.
“Either way, we’re $1 million upside down,” Assistant Superintendent of Business Services and Operations Michael Engel said. “Most districts will look at the entirety of the budget, but I know for us, operationally speaking, we are looking for every last bit of efficiency that we can get out of any one of the funds.”
Although the budget was just approved, the district’s 2022 fiscal year began on July 1 and will run through June 30, 2022.
State sources of funding are currently estimated to make up more than $10 million for the district. The district will also receive $2.8 million from federal sources, which is an increase over previous years due to emergency COVID relief funds.
Approximately $37.8 million of the district’s expenditures will go to the salaries of the district’s teachers, staff and administration. Engel added that those costs are estimated to increase by 4%.
As the district is finding ways to cut costs due to the ongoing financial problems it faces, it has eliminated numerous positions, including 15 staff positions that were announced at a February board meeting, in addition to further cuts it previously made.
Additionally, the district will be paying $7.5 million in benefits to its employees, an estimated increase of 5.7%, according to Engel. Other large costs for the district include purchased services, which will total more than $6.3 million, as well as supplies and materials, which will cost more than $4.5 million for the fiscal year.
Warren Township High School District 121 is not planning many major projects for the year, as it is only budgeting $685,000 in its capital projects fund.
“There’s not a lot going on this year,” Engel said. “It’s going to be a pretty small year.”
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According to the district’s website, District 121 will continue to monitor its finances throughout the fiscal year and look for opportunities “to reduce or eliminate the deficit.”
“We’re a million dollars down this year,” Engel said. “Every year that I’ve been here, we’re hitting our low point earlier and earlier throughout the year. We’re not making it nearly as far as we should, and we’re taking tax money that’s meant for next school year and using it to finish off the current school year. That’s a problem.”
The district is hoping to correct that problem with a referendum being placed on the 2022 ballot which will allow voters to decide if the district can enact a 60-cent limiting rate increase.