Decatur Schools Budget Draft Projects $10 Million Spending Increase

City Schools of Decatur budget is growing along with its student population.

The slide above from the City Schools of Decatur draft of its budget deck lists out 2016 expenditure assumptions for the 2015-16 school year.   As you can see, almost all of them are in someway related to increased enrollment.

Added to an existing overage of $821,703 are expenses to cover almost 25 new staff positions, additional portable classrooms, and a $1.1 million payment on the “COPS” (aka Certificate of Participation) debt that the school system took out this past year to pay for $18 million in renovations to Decatur High and Renfroe Middle School.

The AJC reports that the High School will need 6-8 new portables.  The AJC states that four trailers will be added to Glenwood Elementary or Westchester Elementary and two will be added at Winnona Park.  Additionally, a Decaturish report says there will be 10 portables at Renfroe.

All in all, the draft deck projects CSD will need $55 million, which is $5 million more than projected revenue in the coming school year and $10 million more than the school system spent in the 2014 fiscal year.    (Note that the deck also shows that the school system’s expenses have been below the budget in 5 of the last 7 years, and that CSD only spent 93% of its budget in FY2014.)

The AJC also reports Superintendent Edwards believes “the gap should close some between now and when the final draft’s approved in June”.  The draft budget assumes state funding will be level with last year ($1.7 million), however that could change since the GA Legislature is still in session.