Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter



CAT Tracks for May 17, 2006
SCHOOL FINANCE 101

Hot off the presses...projections for State Aid funding for next year.

You will see that CSD #1 is projected to receive an additional $71,132. BUT...don't get too excited. Although General State Aid is the "biggie", other items go into determining the financial state of the District.

During "impact bargaining" over the dismissal of first- and second-year teachers, the Superintendent emphasized that he expected local funding to take a big hit after next year...that the City of Cairo was due to be reassessed...that the city was currently over-valued. (A short drive around town would make THAT entirely believable.) However, local funding has never been the "driving force" behind the District's finances. But...money is money and any loss from any source must be a consideration.

The other BIG issue cited by the Superintendent is that the District is suffering a steady decline in enrollment...approximately 50 students a year. THAT loss directly affects State Aid. An increase of $170 per student is offset by a smaller number of students to be multiplied times that amount.)

An issue NOT mentioned during negotiations, but which plays a major factor is expenditures. How the District spends its rising/falling revenues will also directly impact its financial health.

Anyway...printed immediately below is an explanatory e-mail from the IEA. Below that are charts that show Alexander and Pulaski Counties so that you may make comparisons...

Attached is the State Board of Education's FINAL RUN May 2006 of the FINAL 2005-2006 General State Aid Compared to PRELIMINARY 2006-2007 General State Aid. You can also find this on the ISBE web site under "Budget".

This report contains:

  • FY 2007 Final Phase of the New General State Aid Poverty Formula (100% Hold Harmless Added)
  • $170 Increase to the Foundation Level
  • FY07 Mandated Categoricals (MCATS) are Estimated at FY06 Proration Percentages
  • MCATS Include Free Lunch, Special Education and Transportation: Does Not Include Orphanage
  • Selected Other CATS Include ADA Block Grant, Bilingual, TAOEP, Career & Tech, and Ag Ed
  • Only School Districts, Laboratory Schools and Regional Schools are Included
  • Transitional Assistance (general hold harmless) is Included for School Districts Only by Geographic Region

The print out is based on the following:

  • May 1st Budget run request Fiscal Year 2007
  • FY 07 GSA does not account for the impact of 7% EAV cap in Cook County
  • All FY 06 Categoricals are not final and FY 07 are Projected from Estimates
  • Entities other than school district receive categorical funding but are not included on this printout
  • ALL FY 07 Categorical Projections are based upon a percentage increase or decrease of the FY 06 payment
  • ADA Block Grant (+10M), Bilingual (+4M), Truant Alternative (+5M), Career/Tech (+0.5M), Ag Ed (+0.5M), MCATS (+56.7M)

POSTSCRIPT: If all of the above made perfect sense to you, then let us know. We are looking for a good "numbers person" for the 2008 negotiations...

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