Mike Wolanin | The Republic An exterior view of the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation administration building in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022.
The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. spending plan for next year is approximately $168 million.
The school board voted on Monday to adopt the 2025 budget and passed five accompanying resolutions that are required as part of its passage.
The resolutions were approved 5-0. BCSC Board Member Pat Bryant was absent. While board member Logan Schulz attended the meeting over Zoom and participated in discussion, state statute prevents those who participate electronically from voting on adopting a budget, BCSC Attorney Michael McIver said.
The board held a budget work session on Sept. 9 and a public hearing on the budget on Sept. 29. Superintendent Chad Phillips said there were no changes made to the budget since the public hearing.
BCSC’s proposed budget for 2025 is $168,551,147, up 10.7% from last year. The increase is largely due to a nearly $10 million payment BCSC is making on lease rental bonds for phase one of Envision 2030, its $306 million facilities plan. Phillips also noted that $6.1 million of the budget is drawing down existing cash in BCSC reserves, meaning the school corporation is going to increase revenues from other sources in 2025 about 6.7%.
The budget is now submitted to the Department of Local Government and Finance, who will return with a property tax rate sometime around the beginning of next year, Phillips said during a budget work session on Sept. 9.
The proposed advertised tax rate is $1.0195 for every $100 of assessed value. BCSC officials in past years said the advertised rate is often a tad higher than where the adopted rate typically lands. For example, the advertised rate in 2024 was $1.0203 for every $100 of assessed value and the adopted rate ended up at $0.9985 for every $100 of assessed value.
The budget includes salary increases for staff — including 3% for classified staff. Increases for teachers and administrative staff are still to be determined, BCSC Treasurer Jamie Brinegar said.
Twelve full-time equivalent positions are being added, some of which had been funded through COVID-era Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding, which expired on Sept. 30, according to Brinegar. Positions added include those in grades K-6 and the secondary level, literacy coaches as part of BCSC’s strategy in helping students pass IREAD-3, C4 positions and an additional person in each high school cohort.
The budget includes capital investments as well, including $2 million for safety infrastructure and $1.5 million in regular facility maintenance.
According to Phillips, the plan initially was to invest $500,000 for safety infrastructure over the next four years, but BCSC officials found that could be upped while keeping the tax rate the same.
In addition, the state uses average-daily-membership (ADM) to allot tuition funding support to schools based on a per-pupil amount.
BCSC’s average daily membership estimates as of October are flat at an estimated 11,376 students, including an estimated 230 Columbus Virtual Pathways (CVP) students. The school corporation will only receive 85% tuition support from the state for CVP students, according to BCSC officials.
ADM estimates for the spring have BCSC down about 50 students. Phillips said counts for the spring in years past have been down between 100 and 150 students “but our cohorts are doing such a good job of keeping kids connected with the high school level and keeping them from dropping out.”
The vast majority of the $90 million education fund — 95% — is earmarked for employee salaries and benefits.
BCSC’s debt service fund is projected to be up 33% for next year, mostly due to the issuance of Envision 2030 lease rental bonds. The board in July passed a pair of resolutions releasing about $44.1 million in rental lease bonds as part of phase one of Envision 2030. BCSC is anticipating to make a $9.9 million payment on those in 2025. BCSC officials said in doing so that the tax rate will remain flat.
The referendum operating fund is up 9.4% to $9.3 million, including an increase of $1.1 million in teacher salary and benefits.
The 2025 BCSC budget can be accessed on BCSC’s BoardDocs website.
