FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — The Northwest Allen County Schools (NACS) School Board met Monday night to discuss the budget for the upcoming year.
The education fund is expected to increase by 2.5% to 3.5%. Most of these funds will go towards classroom supplies and teacher salaries.
The operation fund will increase by 4%, per state legislation, which the district will collect through property taxes.
Chief Financial Officer, Brandon Basham says that the 4% cap has been difficult since the district has grown so much over the last few years. Basham said that the district lost an estimated $400,000 because of the cap in 2024 and that they are expecting to lose $800,000 in 2025 as well.
“It’s certainly been a struggle for a growing district,” says Basham. “As we stay capped, yet we had so much student growth that we had to build our new middle school building. And we have to bring that new staff on within the constraints of the cap so certainly that poses a challenge.”
The operation fund includes capital projects planned for 2025, the bus replacement plan, and more. The bus replacement plan includes an extra two buses for 2025 due to an increase in bus riders.
The 20-25 budget is expected to be approved at NACS meeting on October 7.
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