Homewood Board of Education holds its first FY 2019 budget hearing

The Homewood City Board of Education, at its regular meeting for Aug. 27, held its first public hearing regarding a proposed $77.6 million budget for the school system for 2019 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

This includes a $47.4 million general fund budget. Lynn Buch, the Board’s chief financial officer, told members that the total system revenues projected for fiscal year 2019 are just over $79.6 million.

This means that revenues are expected to exceed expenditures by slightly more than $1.96 million, according to a budget summary supplied by the BOE.

According to local revenue projections included in the budget summary, the BOE expects a 1 percent increase in city and county property tax revenue and a 3 percent increase in city sales tax revenue.

About 72 percent of the $77.6 million budget is made up of local or other funding, with state funding accounting for about 25 percent, or a little over $20 million, and federal funding providing about three percent, or about $2.5 million.

About 77 percent of the general fund budget — which does not include capital projects or debt payments — goes directly for instruction, including such items as salaries and benefits, materials and supplies, technology and textbooks.

Twelve percent of the budget goes towards security, operations and maintenance. Eleven percent goes towards the pre-school program, transportation and local support transferred out to each school, including the child nutrition program and administrative costs.

The system’s budgeted expenditures, excluding debt and capital projects, come to $13,123 per student, according to Buch.

The Homewood schools, including Homewood High School, Homewood Middle School and three elementary schools, have 4,273 students, according to a BOE budget handout.

Buch said instruction required more money this fiscal year.

“Due to increasing enrollment at the middle schools, we hired additional teachers at middle schools to keep our class sizes where we need them,” she said.

“The big enrollment bulge has moved into the middle schools,” Buch said.

Capital improvement budgeted expenses for 2019 include $20 million in system-wide building and land improvements from the city bond issue appropriation, according to the budget summary.

The remaining $25 million is on the capital plan to be used in 2020.

The BOE will pay about $2.6 million in debt service for fiscal year 2019, according to Buch.

After making her budget presentation to board members and about 15 meeting attendees, Buch was praised by some of the members, including Justin Russell.

“We have to make tough financial decisions all the time, and at least we know we have good data to base them on,” Russell said.

The fact that Homewood schools receive only 25 percent of their total funding from the state is a sign of the strong local support the system receives, according to Superintendent Bill Cleveland.

“What is said is that some systems in this state get little if any local funding, and they have to rely on state funding,” he said.

“We are blessed, and with that blessing comes a huge responsibility to meet our mission,” Cleveland said.

A second budget hearing is scheduled for the Board’s next regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 9 a.m., and it is open to the public.

In other business, the Board unanimously approved a $29.5 million contract with M.J. Harris Construction Services of Birmingham for renovations and additions at Homewood High School.

Construction on the additions and renovations at Homewood High School is expected to start at the beginning of October, according to a BOE spokesperson.

A firm timeline has not yet been established, but the BOE expects the project to be complete by January 2020, the spokesperson said.

The work will add additional classrooms, as well as a new fine arts wing; a new Bailey Theater; a new front office and front entrance; and a new athletic wing, athletic offices and weight room.