The Athens City Board of Education recently held two budget meetings to discuss and pass finances for the next fiscal year.

Chief School Financial Officer Serena Owsley went over the proposed budget with board members for almost an hour on Sept. 10. The board passed the budget at a subsequent meeting Sept. 15.

“We are required by the state to have two budget public hearings at a convenient time and place that has been publicized,” Owsley said. “The purpose of our budget process is to have accountability and transparency, inform our community and provide a forum for public input.”

Owsley said the budget includes all anticipated revenue with local sources “estimated very conservatively.” She said funds from the state are based on enrollment.

According to Owsley, the ACS general fund is expected to be begin at $46,625,445. The system has budgeted $45,273,122, leaving an excess of $1,352,322.

Owsley said the school system will have 2.77 months of operating budget held in reserve. The state only requires one month, with many systems across Alabama struggling to maintain even that.

“(The budget) looks great,” Owsley said. “It’s one of the best budgets we’ve had in the past few years as far as income and expenses go.”

Owsley said the system was able to budget money received through the federal CARES Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on purchases that would have otherwise come out of the general fund, such as a down payment on the purchase of 5,001 iPads for students to aid in learning, especially while remote. She said this was a “big help.”

As far as faculty and staff go, Owsley said 74% of the general fund goes to pay teachers, aides and administrators. She said this figure is “not high.”

“A lot of school systems spend 80-90% of their general fund just on faculty and staff,” Owsley said. “The money we have left over can go to other expenses.”

ACS approved a capital plan along with its budget. Owsley said funds for every major project on the plan for 2021, other than the estimated cost of $16 million for completion of a new Athens Elementary School, are already in the system’s account.

This includes roof improvements at Athens Middle and Cowart Elementary and lights for the Athens High band practice field.

“We have to go to the bond market to borrow the money for Athens Elementary,” she said.

Owsley said putting together budgets for each school year is stressful and tedious, but even so, the project is one of her favorite things to do.

“We should be in a healthy status for the next school year,” she said. “Athens City Schools feels confident in this budget.”