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Unit 5 Board Approves Amended 2015-16 Budget

Melissa Schoper

The Unit 5 School board has agreed to an amended budget for the 2015-2016 school year.  The board made some tough choices over the past school year due to the lack of a state budget, including changing school start times beginning this fall. 

The amended budget reflects these choices, and Unit 5 Business Manager Marty Hickman said the amendments present more of a framework as to how Unit 5 finances will look.

"There's still variables that come into play and this is still only an estimate of where we're gonna land. There's another state payment that's out there that could change this amended budget" said Hickman.

Hickman said variables such as property taxes could also change their current estimates. The lack of a state budget is affecting all public school districts. Unit 5 had to make changes as well, such as changing start times for the fall. Hickman says the amended budget is only  an estimate of where they will land financially. The lack of a budget is weighing heavily on the district.

"Of course we're concerned. We have 60 to 70 days of cash on hand, operation days, and then we're not quite sure what we can do, so we have to like Peoria, like every district in the state, we have to look at contingencies, because we're not certain" said Hickman.

How much the district will have to look at contingencies will rely on when the state budget is passed.

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