The Portage Township School Board is considering a $98.9 million budget for 2027. A vote on the budget will be held Oct. 12.
Chief Financial Officer Nicholas Gron went over the details for the board Monday.
More than half of the money, $57.6 million, will go into the education fund, with funding from the state based on enrollment. About 75% of that pays for classroom instruction, teachers and aides. Another 22% goes to counselors, student services and administration. There’s a small amount for extracurricular activities, too.
“Curricular materials were a new add-on last year,” with fees for parents eliminated, Gron said.
Indiana recommends diverting up to 15% of the education fund to help pay for operations, but Portage is limiting the transfer to 10.7%, or $6.2 million, Gron said.
That shows how the district prioritizes classroom instruction and is taking steps to cut expenses, Superintendent Amanda Alaniz said.
For the new Aylesworth Middle School, the district is planning to use geothermal from the new pond being dug to help with the HVAC system.
The operations fund, which pays for transportation, maintenance, utility bills, capital projects and the like, is set to be $25.1 million. That fund’s revenue comes primarily from property taxes.
Transportation accounts for about 21.3% of the operations fund, general operations and maintenance at 55% and capital projects at about 8.6%.
“The big change in 2027 is the elimination of the school pension debt fund,” Gron said. With the 20-year bonds paid off this December, that fund will be eliminated, making more money available for operating the district’s schools.
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The rainy day fund will continue to have $4 million. “That’s been the same budget for several years,” Gron said. The district occasionally borrows from that fund for expenses before a bond issue, repaying it when the bond proceeds arrive.
“We haven’t spent from the rainy day fund in several years,” a major factor in the district’s high bond rating, he said.
Gron also introduced a capital projects plan for 2027 that includes HVAC improvements at Kyle, South Haven and Myers elementary schools, at $2.85 million each; as well at flooring improvements at Jones and Kyle, at $650,000 each, and South Haven at $450,000.
A solar and energy efficiency project at Portage High School is set for $1.375 million and exterior door replacement at $90,000.
HVAC, flooring and office improvements at the administration building are set for $400,000.
Another $70,000 is planned for parking lot paving work at various schools.
The district proposes to replace four buses next year. Gron said it used to be seven buses a year. With inflation, the cost remains similar even with fewer buses being purchased, he said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.