Shelley School Board approves $14.6 million budget

SHELLEY — At the June 24 Shelley School Board meeting, the board approved the district’s proposed $14.6 million budget for the 2021-2022 school year.

The school district’s budget for the upcoming school year included some changes from last year’s budget. Those changes range everywhere from moving one item from one part of the budget to another, to the loss of federal or state funds.

One of the biggest changes was the loss of one-time funds the State of Idaho allotted to the school district.

“The (one-time funds) were the Coronavirus relief funds that the Governor issued to the schools,” Shelley School District Business Manager Lanell Farmer said.

The State gave the school district $733,549 in one-time funds last year.

“It was so much per pupil that they based that on,” Farmer explained.

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Another significant change from last year’s budget is an increase of more than $900,000 in Base Support.

Shelley Superintendent Chad Williams said that Base Support is the section of the budget allocated for teachers’ salaries.

Farmer explained that the increase is due to teachers moving up the career ladder and earning raises.

As well as budgeting for more teacher pay, the district plans to spend $203,000 more on Exceptional Child, also known as special education.

Farmer said that increase is due to a variety of changes. Last year, the State paid for teacher’s and teacher aid’s sick leave. This year the school district is responsible for paying for sick leave, accounting for just under $10,000.

Another $20,700 is paying for a school nurse and an individual who does professional development for special education teachers.

“A lot of these are from (teachers, aids and staff) if they’ve moved positions, it was just a shift in the budget,” Farmer explained.

Please view the Shelley School District fiscal year 2021-2022 approved budget below.