The Carroll Community School District reviewed the projections for the fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget during the Board of Education meeting this past Monday. Director of Business Affairs Nicole McCarville addressed the board with the preliminary budget guide, considering the trend of declining enrollment. With the number of students attending Carroll schools decreasing slightly each year, the district has to account for the State Supplemental Aid (SSA) given to the district as funding per pupil that attends schools in the district. The projections also included reducing health renewal from a nine percent increase to seven percent and the approved new teacher and administration position salaries. The school is projecting to spend $24,858,478 for the FY25. McCarville says the district is looking to have a maximum authorized budget of $37,401,056, which is viewed as a credit card limit, meaning the school will have an unspent authorized budget of $12,542,578, resulting in a 33.5% unspent authorized budget ratio. The board members questioned the ratio being higher than the recommended 17%. McCarville says that while that number seems high, she assures the Carroll District is in the middle, while some other schools are way above that percentage, some sitting above 50%. McCarville says the district does have time to adjust, as the proposed budget tax rates do not need to be submitted to the county until Mar. 5 and can even be extended to Mar. 15. The board will be discussing more on the budget, and information about what the proposed tax rates will be during their next meeting, scheduled on Feb. 19.
