The Mason School District budget is proposed to rise less than half a percent this year, with salaries and equipment replacement driving the close to $15,000 increase.
The Mason School District Board held its budget hearing on Wednesday, presenting its proposed budget of $3,168,941. The budget is a .46 percent increase over last year’s number, an increase of about $14,625.
Teacher and staff salaries are proposed to increase by 3 percent, including the paraprofessionals, pre-school teachers, the school nurse and custodian.
There are also increases in the costs of electricity and oil and wood pellets, accounting for a $9,500 increase.
The other increases in the budget can be attributed to equipment upgrades.
“The big hitter is technology,” said Superintendent Kristen Kivela. The Mason Elementary School is planning both infrastructure upgrades, as well as replacing teacher laptops and a portion of the student Chromebooks, in line with their replacement cycle.
The district will see some savings in its tuition of middle and high school students to Milford. The cost of tuition is part of a long-term agreement with the Milford School District, and is based on how many students are sent out-of-district. With fewer middle-high school students going out of district, the Mason School District is expected to pay about $22,000 less than last year. Tuition is the largest portion of the district’s budget, accounting for more than a third of the total cost of running the district.
The district also anticipates a decrease in its debt repayment, anticipating payments that will be about $16,000 less than last year.
As with other school districts across the state, the Mason School District is anticipating a larger-than-usual adequacy aid grant from the state, which allocated additional funds for school districts this year, though the increase is not guaranteed moving forward.
The increase is calculated based on the number of students, and Mason School District is anticipating receiving $30,000 which will be slated to reduction of the local education portion of Mason’s tax rate.
In three other warrant articles, the district is requesting additions to its capital reserve funds.
In all three cases, the funds would be taken from any monies not spent over the course of the year, and would only be added if those funds are available.
The first requests $20,000 for the Educating Educationally Disabled Children Capital Reserve. The second requests $10,000 for the School Building and Grounds Maintenance Capital reserve, and the final $15,000 for the Unanticipated Tuition Cost Capital Reserve.
The Mason School District Deliberative Session is scheduled for Feb. 1 at 9 a.m. in the Mason Elementary School multi-purpose room. The snow date for the deliberative session is Feb. 1 at 2 p.m.
Ballot voting is scheduled for March 10 between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the Mason Town Hall. Voters will elect school officers, including two members to the School Board, a district treasurer and a district moderator.