A proposed budget for Springfield Public Schools includes funding to pay additional staff members while dealing with the loss of more than $30 million in COVID-19 economic relief funding.
The Springfield Board of Education on Tuesday evaluated a budget recommendation for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on July 1 and runs to June 30, 2025. The proposed operating budget calls for expenditures of $362,128,948 and revenues of $358,345,419.
Board members will be asked to approve the budget during their June 25 meeting.
SPS Deputy Superintendent Travis Shaw and Executive Director of Business Services Cara Stassel outlined for board members highlights in the budget, and how the budget aligns with the school district’s strategic plan.
Sources of revenue for Springfield Public Schools
Springfield Public Schools administrators have long known the school district would lose millions in federal funds related to COVID-19 recovery. Known as ESSER funds, the district budgeted for a loss of about $30.3 million in revenue.
However, Springfield schools will experience some boosts in funding. Shaw said the Missouri General Assembly's full funding of the state public education formula will bring an estimated increase of $7,563,660.
Property taxes are expected to bring in about $4.5 million revenue increase, Shaw said, thanks to an estimated $60 million in new construction. Final assessed valuation numbers will come from the Greene County Assessor's Office in August.
Proposition C, a one-cent sales tax started in 1982, is anticipated to generate an extra $1,174,172.
Salaries are costliest part of SPS budget
Stassel said the biggest portion of the budget goes toward salaries and benefits for its employees. The budget calls for an estimated increase of $12,222,501 toward those expenses. A full report of recommended salary increases, determined through collective bargaining, is anticipated for the next meeting.
About 18 positions will be added at a cost of $1,054,254, according to the proposed budget.
About $7.4 million in ESSER money was used to pay for about 122 full-time positions related to supporting students, assisting with pandemic-related learning losses. The budget calls for retaining about 60 of those positions at a cost of $4.5 million, with that money coming from a mix of local and federal funding sources.
In connection with a heightened focus on improving student behavior throughout Springfield, the budget calls for $4,262,995 in behavior-related supports, including additional staff members, assistant principals, community liaisons, training materials and the publication of student handbooks for every family.
Other anticipated increases include $338,850 in additional tuition payments for students in Ozark Technical Community College programs such as the Middle College, Fly SPS and the Alliance for Healthcare Education, and an additional $173,270 for Fly SPS supplies and flight hours.
