School board approves 2015 budget

The Whitefish School District board has approved the 2015 fiscal year budget that includes an increase of less than 1 percent from the previous year.

The board unanimously approved the budget Aug. 12 during its regular meeting. General fund revenue increased about $102,000 while budget obligations for salaries and benefits increased by more than $110,000 for the preliminary budget.

Salaries and benefits make up 88 percent of the district’s general fund budget. The budget figures in an increase in salary for both certified and classified staff.

The elementary district transportation fund levy has increased due to an additional special education route that was added during the 2013-14 school year. The transpiration fund increases about $70,000 for fiscal year 2015.

District Clerk Danelle Reisch said the increase is the result of adding the route and also recouping reserves that were used to fund the route last year.

“We used over half of the reserves to cover the added route,” she said. “This is a one-time increase that will put money back into the reserves.”

The high school district transportation fund levy has increased also due to adding a special education bus route. The fund shows an overall increase of about $20,000.

“We never had a special education bus before at the high school and now we have one,” Reisch explained.

The elementary district general fund budget is $7.36 million, an increase of about $40,000 over the previous year. The high school district general fund budget is $4.3 million, which includes an increase of about $63,000 over the previous year.

Reisch is hoping for savings in the utility budgets. The budget anticipates about $22,000 in savings at the middle school and about $12,000 in savings at the high school.

The sale of the Whitefish Independent High School building is expected to save the district money on operational and maintenance costs. Savings of about $17,000 are projected for the fiscal year, which is a 50 percent reduction for that fund. The independent school program will be relocated into the new high school building in the fall.