Board approves fiscal year 2022 budget

The Homewood Board of Education approved the fiscal year 2022 budget at the Sept. 14 meeting, which calls for about $1 million more in revenues than in expenditures, according to Homewood City Schools Communications Director Merrick Wilson.

The $53 million budget calls for roughly 369 teacher units, with 272 of those funded by the state of Alabama and the rest funded by local funds. Local and other funding accounts for roughly 58% of the budget, with 34% coming from the state and 7.5% coming from federal funding.

Federal COVID-19 relief funds, totaling roughly $1.4 million, will go toward reading and math intervention tutors, math coaches, instructional aides, health service supplies, sanitation supplies and equipment, a system-wide nurse, computer hardware and software licenses and summer reading programs.

In regards to capital projects, there is $2.6 million in system-wide building and land improvements, including improvements at the high school baseball field, a new maintenance shop at the Board of Education, media center renovations at Homewood Middle School and other various repairs.

Seventy-seven percent of the budget goes directly for instruction including salary and benefits, materials and supplies, technology, textbooks and more. Another 13% goes toward security, operations and maintenance, while another 10% goes toward the preschool program, transportation, administration, and local support that goes toward each individual schools, including the child nutrition program.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s budget “conservatively budgeted local revenues” with no increases in sales tax or city and county property tax, Wilson said.