CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield school board on Monday night voted to approve its tentative 2023-24 general fund budget.
The budget proposal calls for $54.49 million in expenditures and $48.99 million in revenues, with a projected deficit of $5.49 million but no tax increase.
Business Manager Sam Maney expects local revenues to increase by 4.95 percent due to projected increases in real estate tax revenues ($301,000) and investment income ($250,000)
The increased assessed value will generate more local revenue for the district without a millage increase, he said, so long as the district maintains its current collection rate.
The budgeted value of one mill of real estate tax generates approximately $145,759 in Clearfield County, according to Maney.
The state’s funding is also projected to increase by 9.13 percent for the 2023-24 school year primarily due to increases to the basic education and special education subsidies, and federal revenues are expected to increase by 25.18 percent due to an anticipated increase in ESSER grants.
However, the district’s expenditures are also projected to increase and by 6.09 percent over the current year with salaries and benefits making up 56 percent of the expense budget.
It was noted that the district has budgeted for a much-needed second assistant principal at Clearfield Area Elementary School.
The fund balance as of June 30, 2022, was $15.05 million, Maney said, and in 2022-23, the district anticipates a surplus of approximately $357,987. The fund balance is estimated to be $15.41 million on June 30, 2023.
State law does not limit the amount of fund balance a district can have, Maney said; however, it does limit a district’s ability to raise taxes if its unassigned fund balance is in excess of a specified amount.
As a result, the district is unable to raise real estate taxes because its estimated ending unassigned fund balance will be over 8 percent of its total budgeted expenditures for the upcoming year.
The budget proposal will now be placed on public display before being presented for its final approval in June.
