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The General Fund
06/25/08 - 09:21 AM

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The Bay District School Board keeps talking about the general fund and the fact that the budget cuts from the State have to come from that pot of money.  Not many people, however, have a very clear idea of what falls into that category.

With time running out to make those cuts the school board decided it might be a good time to educate the community, and show them why it’s not easy to cut millions of dollars out of their budget.

The general fund is what most people would call their operating budget.  For a school board it’s made up of money from the state and money collected through taxes.  It consists primarily of the funds required to run the day-to-day operations of the school district including salaries, ordinary maintenance of facilities, transportation, school budgets, school safety, and tutorial programs.  Yet not all of that money is free to spend as the board pleases.

“We get some funds that come with little tags on them. The tag says you can only spend this money on instructional materials,” said board member Ginger Littleton.

The State is contributing less, which means you’re paying more.

In the 2002-2003 school year the State contributed 62% of the money in the general fund.  Your taxes paid the remaining 38%.

This year that number has virtually flipped with the required local effort at 67% and the state contributing only 33%.  Believe it or not, that’s not so bad compared to other districts.

“You go just to the left of us in Walton county, they’re paying 90% and the State is only giving them 10%,” said Superintendent James McCalister.

The reason for that lies with property values.  When property values increase the State assumes the community can pick up more of the bill.

The school board will meet Wednesday for it’s regularly scheduled board meeting.  They’re expected to set a date for another workshop to discuss alternative ways to make their cuts without closing schools.  The meeting begins at 1 o’clock in the Nelson Building on Balboa Avenue.

There will also be a community forum with the Superintendent on Thursday night in Millville.  That will begin at 7 o’clock at the Immanuel Baptist Church on College