The numbers in the chart are different than the article in the paper. As I looked at final numbers on Unspent Balance from the Iowa Department of Management, I discovered that our unspent balance ended higher than anticipated, due to increased miscellaneous income. I apologize for not having the final numbers in the original article. In this case the change is a pleasant one.
G-R Happenings
Legislation impacting the funding of K-12 education and education in general has been a hot topic in the news lately. I would like to take this opportunity to speak specifically to the impact of 0% allowable growth for FYs 12 and 13 on the G-R district. The information I’ll be presenting deals with Spending Authority, which impacts only the General Fund, as opposed to PPEL and State Penny Sales Tax funds, which can be used exclusively for infrastructure type expenditures. As I’ve mentioned in the past, you can think of this as a credit card limit. It sets the maximum amount that a district can spend and is primarily driven by allowable growth, which is established by the legislature, and student enrollment.
The primary figure that I’m going to reference is “New Money”. This is the dollar amount assigned to the change in Spending Authority from one year to the next. In FY 11 G-R’s New Money was -$68,953. Due to the budget guarantee and the addition “student” generated via supplementary weighting, from our increased utilization of dual enrollment courses at the high school, we will have a small amount of New Money in FY 12, regardless of Allowable Growth. FY 12 New Money = $41,201. Where we’ll see the impact of the low allowable growth is in future years. The charts below will compare our projected allowable growth based on enrollment predictions and various Allowable Growth rates.
Unspent Balance is the carryover, or extra allowable growth the district has at its disposal. This numbers are also based on a 3% increase in expenditures annually.
Impact of 0% Allowable Growth
| Fiscal Year | Enrollment | Allowable Growth Rate | New Money | Unspent Balance (Projected) |
| FY 11 | 688.4 | 2% | -$68,953 | $985,217 |
| FY 12 | 679.7 | 0% | $41.201 | $907,743 |
| FY 13 | 639 | 0% | -$52,832 | $741,973 |
| FY 14 | 598 | 2% | -$185,335 | $448,171 |
| FY 15 | 578 | 2% | -$161,817 | $181,522 |
| FY 16 | 578 | 2% | -$89,835 | -$15,248 |
| FY 17 | 578 | 2% | $73,406 | -$50,916 |
Maintaining 2% Allowable Growth
| Fiscal Year | Enrollment | Allowable Growth Rate | New Money | Unspent Balance (Projected) |
| FY 11 | 688.4 | 2% | -$68,953 | $985,217 |
| FY 12 | 679.7 | 2% | $41.201 | $905,564 |
| FY 13 | 639 | 2% | $29,543 | $817,398 |
| FY 14 | 598 | 2% | -$109,081 | $595,461 |
| FY 15 | 578 | 2% | -$168,269 | $318,118 |
| FY 16 | 578 | 2% | -$93,465 | $113,391 |
| FY 17 | 578 | 2% | $76,296 | $76,202 |
The prediction of 2% allowable growth is a conservative one. Education organizations, Iowa Association of School Boards, and School Administrators of Iowa, advocate for a 6% Allowable Growth rate in order to maintain Iowa schools. If the economy gets on stronger footing and we would get 4% Allowable Growth in FYs 15, 16, and 17 G-R would maintain an Unspent Balance of $160,537, never going into the negative.
So, what do we do? School Boards and administrators around Iowa will be advocating for a positive Allowable Growth Rate. As you might predict we are often seen as self-serving in this endeavor. Any support that our constituents can provide is much appreciated and well received by our legislators. Locally, the G-R administrative team and Board will continue to seek out opportunities to increase our Spending Authority and also limit expenditures. From a staffing standpoint the district is at a point where nearly any reductions mean a loss in programming for our students. We will continue to reduce sections at the elementary level as class sizes dictate and utilize early retirement incentives when prudent.
I can report that through careful management of resources and by generating increased supplementary weighting through increasing dual enrollment courses and sharing a transportation director, the district has increased its Unspent Balance the last few years, from $429,745 in FY 09 to the anticipated $985,217 in FY 11. We will almost certainly need to tap into these reserves over the next few years. But, it is critical that we maintain a positive unspent balance.
If you have questions about the G-R general fund, how Allowable Growth impacts our budget, or would like contact information for our local legislators, please contact me. Office phone: 319-345-2712, email: tkuehl@g-r.k12.ia.us
Educationally yours,
Tim Kuehl, Superintendent
