Even though the withholdings from the Missouri state budget didn't appear to affect public schools, districts noticed increases for their transportation revenue was wiped away with the $115.5 million.
Jefferson City Public Schools and Blair Oaks were anticipating a 5 percent increase in reimbursements from the state for their bus transportation to and from school. However, with revenue growth coming in lower than expected, the governor is withholding several increases promised to departments across the state.
Other eliminated increases for the schools include expansions to the Parents as Teachers program, dyslexia training for the freshly-passed bill that requires all students be tested for dyslexia and related disorders, the Missouri Preschool program and the Cooperative Dropout Prevention/Community Partnership Program, according to a news release from Rep. Kurt Bahr's office.
Jim Jones, superintendent for the Blair Oaks School District, said he was disappointed to see increases for Parents as Teachers were cut, meaning the expansion will likely be delayed a few more years. It's unclear thus far if the other expected increases will have much of an impact of his district, he said.
Jason Hoffman, chief financial officer for JCPS, said he wasn't expecting an increase for Parents as Teachers anyway. The other programs won't really affect the district's bottom line either, but he had budgeted for an increase in transportation revenue.
Last year, JCPS received $715,822 for their allowable transportation costs, which only includes school bus routes that bring students to and from school. The allowable costs excludes students bused to school who live a mile or less away from school, summer school bus transportation, field trips or sporting events, Hoffman said.
He budgeted for an additional $35,000 next year for transportation costs that likely won't come to fruition.
The governor said the $115.5 million in withholdings won't affect the $70 million increase in funding for kindergarten through 12th-grade public schools. Public schools appeared to be exempt from the cuts, but the increases for transportation and the other programs will affect districts that were counting on it.
"It is taking money away from kids because we have to fund bus routes whether we get money for them or not," Hoffman said.
The district is already planning a $1.1 million deficit next year, and the $35,000 means they'll have to dip that much further into reserve funds.
The anticipated increase seems small compared to the district's $3.58 million transportation budget, but the $35,000 is about what it costs to run one route for a whole year, Hoffman said.
Districts that offer transportation can receive up to 75 percent in reimbursements from the state for allowable transportation costs.
What districts actually get is far less than that. If the formula was fully funded, JCPS would have received around $2 million from the state last year. Blair Oaks spent a total of $490,141 last year and would have received $255,717 if the formula was fully funded; instead their state transportation aid was $89,935, Jones said.
Blair Oaks was anticipating an additional $4,500 next year. The amount could cut further into the district's budget.
"I'm concerned about any reduction in revenue. Period," he said. "But ultimately you'll have to fine tune your budget over the year just like any year, and this is another potential challenge. We'll have more (challenges) before it's over."
The budget went into effect about two weeks ago, so it's still early in the fiscal year to determine how worrisome the withholdings will be, Jones said. As the year goes on and more revenue comes in, the gap from transportation withholdings might be filled elsewhere.
For now, Jones said, he'll wait for more details and see where the shortfalls exist.
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