JAMESTOWN – There’s going to be some tough decisions ahead for the Jamestown School Board. Tonight is the night Jamestown School Superintendent Daniel “Deke” Kathman will be presenting the most up-to-date budget projections for the 2013-2014 school year.
While Kathman’s presentation isn’t scheduled until tonight, it appears the school district will be facing over a $1.7 million budget gap for next year. This based on recent budget discussions from earlier this year, combined with final state aid totals for Jamestown from the recently passed state budget.
In March, Kathman explained that the district was facing a $1.9 million spending gap and he was hopeful the final state aid totals would significantly reduce that amount. However, Jamestown will only get about $130,000 more in state aid compared to what was in the governor’s proposed budget that was presented in January.
Tonight, Kathman and assistant Superintendent for Administration Dale Weatherlow will discuss the budget gap with the school board and lay out the various options it has to help offset the spending gap. They will most likely include staff and teacher layoffs or a tax increase or a combination of the two.
The school board has until the end of this month to finalize its budget. A public hearing on the spending plan will be May 14 at Persell School and the budget vote will be May 21.
Tonight’s school board meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. in the school administration building on Martin Road and is open to the public.
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