HUTCHINSON, Kan — The USD 308 Board of Education Monday (April 28, 2014) was updated on work by the district’s Budget Committee. Superintendent Dr. Shelly Kiblinger and Executive Director of Fiscal Management Lori Blakesley 
reported to the Board about the committee’s work. The committee, comprised of community members and educators, met four times in March and April. The committee looked at areas where spending will need to increase in 2014-15 and areas where it could be cut. The committee, then, made recommendations that the Board will take up at its May 12 meeting.
In the recently signed state budget legislation, USD 308 taxpayers will see property taxes drop because of increased state aid for the Local Option Budget. Additionally, the district will see additional money for capital outlay – money that can’t, however, be used in the classroom but, instead, is used generally for facility upkeep.
Since the legislation also decreases certain types of aid for at-risk students, the district will end up receiving about $102,000 less state aid in 2014-15 than this year. In order to give staff a small wage increase in 2014-15, the committee looked at areas of the budget where cuts could be made.
Also during the meeting, the Board voted not to extend an agreement with the City of Hutchinson for tax increment financing for environmental cleanup of an area of near the city’s grain elevator terminals. The vote came after executive sessions, lasting 20 minutes, for the Board to meet with its attorney.
The Board, however, did pass a second motion related to the environmental cleanup that would allow the district to participate if the project qualifies for state funding and the district, in turn, receives its proportion of the state funding.