With the start of another school year underway, the budget is a major topic of discussion among Board of Education members. United Superintendent Tom Hawkins shares the current status of the district ahead of a public hearing in September:
“The state is kind of pulling back a little bit, they are telling us as districts across the state we are going to have to buckle up a little bit and really focus on the necessities of what we need. Tentative numbers look like we will be fine this year. We are going to be a little bit behind. Right now, we are a little behind in our Ed Fund and we are also a little behind in meeting revenues versus expenditures in the Operations and Maintenance Fund. Transportation continues to be a concern of all our districts out here because of the number of miles that our districts have to travel to pick up students. Last year you heard me plea for bus drivers, well this year, the Illinois State Board of Education recommended to keep the reimbursement for transportation the same; the governor came in and cut those numbers. So, districts in this area are going to have to find ways to still transport kids and operate schools at the same time.”
The Public Hearing for United’s tentative budget will be held Thursday, September 11th at 6 pm ahead of the Board of Education meeting in the Library at United North in Alexis.
