Sangamon Sun

Members of the Board of Education for Springfield Local Schools District #186 reviewed the district's finances for the 2022-2023 school year during a board meeting earlier this month.

Tom Osborne, Director of Business Services for the district, explained that preliminary numbers for the 2023 Fiscal Year were comparable to the unadjusted, unaudited value for FY 2022.

"Still a little work in progress, but similarly to last year, I don't think there are going to be much of a change," Osborne told the board during a Sept. 6 meeting.

Osborne also commented on the larger than normal number in the bills payable portion of the business report. He attributed the high number to a larger gap between board meetings. The report included two rounds of payroll, a final healthcare payment, and many large construction project payments. 

He also told the board there is roughly $214.5 million in revenues and $212.5 million in expenditures in the operating fund, which includes major operations of the education fund, maintenance, and transportation. The budget does show a $1.7 million surplus in the 2022-2023 budget, but that could change with any salary changes that could be made under current contract negotiations. 

Superintendent Jennifer Gill also wanted to disprove any rumors that cuts were made to the fine arts in the district. Osborn verified to the board that fine arts were not cut from the budget.