Adrian Martinez-De La Cruz
The Gary Community School Corp. held a public hearing Thursday for its revised $82.3 million proposed budget as it faces increased costs for next year.
The proposed spending plan for 2026 is around $6 million more than the initial proposal presented last month. This year's certified budget was nearly $76 million.
The school corporation is proposing $36.2 million for the education fund, which is used to pay teacher salaries and instructional materials, and $24.2 million for the operations fund, which covers transportation costs, facilities maintenance and salaries of administrators and non-instructional staff.
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Meanwhile, $10.5 million is planned for the district's operating referendum fund. The additional property tax levy, approved by voters in 2020, funds teacher compensation, athletics and extracurricular activities, student safety initiatives and helps balance the budget. Additionally, $11.3 million is set to go to the debt service fund, which is used to repay the district's long-term debt obligations.
Chief Financial Officer Linda Zaborowski said on Thursday that the increases to the budget were to ensure the district had enough for its expenses, noting that they were set to incur higher costs, due to increases in the district's contributions to the state teacher and public employee retirement funds, increased health insurance costs and mandated pay bumps for teachers.
Zaborowski said that if property tax revenue and state funding didn't fully cover the expense increases, the district would have enough in its cash reserves to support those increases.
The CFO also presented a three-year capital projects plan, which districts are required to approve annually. The plan includes spending $6 million over the next three years to replace heating and cooling units across all the buildings in the district.
Zaborowski said the replacement of the units was necessary, since some were up to 60 years old.
"They are failing, and currently we are putting band-aids on them," she said.
While Gary currently contracts for bus service, Zaborowski proposed purchasing two activity buses for nearly $214,500 for extracurricular and athletic events, noting the district spends roughly $30,000 each month to transport students to those events.
"We've tried to figure a path forward to lessen the financial impact, and we can do that through our athletic programs if we have our coaches ... drive our students," said Superintendent Yvonne Stokes.
The Gary School Board will vote to approve the budget proposal at 1 p.m. Oct. 23.
PHOTOS: Comprehensive safety initiatives a priority in Lake County schools Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Adrian Martinez-De La Cruz
Education Reporter
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