BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — The Bradford County School District is preparing for upcoming budget hearings, the first of which will take place on Aug. 1.
Prior to that, Finance Director Brandon Esposito will present the millage and budget information to the board at a special meeting on July 25.
Esposito reviewed the important dates and preliminary information with the board Monday night.
Bradford was still waiting for the state to report the district’s required local millage rate as of July 18. A conference report the state issued in April projected state and local revenue at just under $24.9 million.
Esposito said a $214 increase in the base student allocation to $4,587 would help offset the cost of raising the minimum wage. (The state has imposed a $15 minimum wage for public employees, effective Oct. 1.)
Base student funding is increasing for the projected enrollment to $13.8 million, which is up $593,369. This does not include additional state money for categorical spending on school safety, mental health, reading, transportation, instructional materials, etc. It also doesn’t include money for federal programs such as Title I and food service.
According to Esposito, the conference report projects enrollment be up by approximately 35 students when compared to the final calculation for the 2021-22 school year.
The state budget also includes money for raising teacher salaries. Bradford schools received an increase in the teacher salary enhancement supplement of $244,428, bringing the total to $736,592.
Contributions to the Florida Retirement System are also increasing by 1.09%.
The district is awaiting word on final approved allocation, but construction funding for the new school will be approximately $16 million. Meanwhile, the district is saving massively on building supplies it is purchasing directly for the project. Its tax exemption has saved more than $897,000 so far.
While working on the budget, finance is also busy working on issues revealed in prior audit reports, including timely bank account reconciliation. The consultant working with Esposito’s office is currently caught up working on June of this year.
Esposito said there is also a great deal of cleanup to accomplish in the Skyward software. The goal is to have data entry complete by early August so everything is accurate for the annual financial report, which must be submitted by Sept. 12.
Esposito reported that the district’s general fund balance was $3.3 million, which is 13% of revenues. This will change as the financial transactions from the prior budget are posted.
The budget and millage will be presented to the board on July 25 at 5:30 p.m. The public hearing dates are Aug. 1 and Sept. 12 at 5:01 p.m.
