From the Harford County Board of Education:
The Board of Education of Harford County met for a special business meeting on Monday, January 30, 2012, in the Board Room of the HCPS/A.A. Roberty Building and took the following actions or received the following presentations:
Approved the Proposed FY13 Operating Budget with the following amendments:
– State Reduction in funding of $2,855,486 (Revenue)
– Reduction in the health rate from 7% to 2% of $3,033,000 (Expense)
– Reduced the Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Purchasing Agent and reallocated the funds to the Education Services budget in the amount of $99,060
– Eliminated the Biomedical Science Program Teacher Specialist for Bel Air High School and reallocated those funds to the Special Education budget for a special education teacher in the amount of $60,985
With the above listed amendments, the approved budget request for the FY13 in the Unrestricted Fund of $444,301,549. Additionally, the amounts for the other funds are: Restricted Funds of $24,493,445 Food Service Fund of $15,205,567, and the Capital Budget of $15,706,131.
We received a question from a reader about the meaning of this item:
“Reduction in the health rate from 7% to 2% of $3,033,000 (Expense)”
From the discussion at the school board meeting last night, the short answer is that the health insurance rate, which was estimated to increase 7% next year, is now expected to rise only 2%, creating a savings (a reduction in expenses) of $3,033,000 in the budget as it was originally proposed.
The long answer involves actual data from last calendar year, where the utilization rate was less than expected. Data from the 4th Quarter ending in December was not available when the proposed FY2013 budget was first crafted with a conservative (higher) estimate of future costs. The actual data for all of last year prompted a consultant to recommend that the lesser premium increase of 2% would be adequate for next year.
Restricted fund means moneys that are designated for a specific purpose by the County and that the school system is only allowed to use for that purpose, correct? If so, why can’t payroll be considered a restricted fund expense, wherein the county can designate that a specific amount of money be used only for salaries?
Concerned Teacher – Restricted funds in the school budget do not come from the county, they are from the state and federal governments and as you say, they are restricted to a specific use.
County funding for schools is not restricted except in the capital budget where it is attached to a specific project and can’t otherwise be used for salaries or other operating expenses.
The county does provide funding for instructional salaries but it’s up to the school board to determine how many positions there will be in the system and then up to the school board and the unions to negotiate employee compensation.
In other words, the county provides a total dollar amount but the specifics are determined within the school system. This process is not unique to Harford County, it’s the process required by the state. I hope that helps to answer your questions.