Wednesday, September 27, 2000
Smaller Middletown Schools to get by on slimmer budget
By Sue Kiesewetter
Enquirer Contributor
MIDDLETOWN — With about 1,050 fewer students than last year's 9,260, the Middletown City Schools will operate 17 schools on a $62.5 million budget.
That's about a $4.44 million — or 6.63 percent — reduction from last year, when the Middletown City and Monroe Local schools were a combined district, said Edmund Pokora, treasurer of the Middletown Schools. The budget reflects that change, which includes about 80 fewer teaching positions and one fewer buildings.
When the Monroe Local Schools began operations July 1, it took about 17 percent of the combined district's tax base and about 1,500 students, including those Middletown students who enrolled in Monroe through open enrollment.
“The budget looks very different from previous years,” Mr. Pokora said when presenting it to board members Monday. “It includes additional services and programs for the Middletown Schools, including the enhancement of high school busing, the addition of almost $1 million in new grants from last year, and funding for initiatives in the Continuous Improvement Plan.”
There are four fewer administrative positions overall, even though an assistant principal was added at Middletown High School, where the return of students who formerly went to Lemon-Monroe High School boosted enrollment to 1,800 including 650 freshmen.
Last year Middletown High had an enrollment of 1,570. To make room for the students, classrooms in the former Manchester Technical Center were renovated for use by the high school.
The $38.7 million general fund — used to pay for the day-to-day operations of the district including salaries and fringe benefits — represents about 62 percent of the total budget.
The $10.1 million emergency levy fund accounts for 16 percent of the budget, while money from federal and state grants, food service and miscellaneous income accounts for the other 22 percent. Nearly three-fourths of the budget, or $46.4 million, will be used to pay salaries and benefits.
Because of the reduction of Lemon-Monroe High School, the district is spending $686,760 to support after-school sports and clubs for students in grades 7 to 12, compared with just over $1 million last year, or a 31.3 percent reduction.
Still, the spending for after-school activities represents only 1.05 percent of the district's total budget, Mr. Pokora said.
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