Draft budget for Canton Central calls for $34 million in spending | Education

“We plan for the worst, and hope for the best,” Mr. Burke stated a number of instances throughout his presentation.

Mr. Burke went meticulously by means of a 12-page spreadsheet with board members. The worksheet included numbers from the draft budget in addition to precise numbers going again three years.

The draft budget calls for a $34.8 million spending plan which is up from $33.1 million in 2021-22.

Mr. Burke spent about 45 minutes explaining the plan to board members.

“As we begin the budget process we are always looking back and building from there,” Mr. Burke stated. “We also look at what we currently have and what we need to maintain.”

The income aspect of the budget assumes a 2.96% property tax improve, which was the utmost permitted by the board, Mr. Burke stated.

“All told, we are looking at $31,057,491 in total revenue for next year,” Mr. Burke stated. “And then when you go back to our expense sheet we are looking at a $34.8 million budget on $31 million in revenue. As we typically do, we are looking at going to the fund balance and using some reserve money to balance that out.”

Bridging the practically $3.8 million budget hole with reserve cash comes on the heels of a 2020-21 budget that used slightly below $3 million in reserve cash, Mr. Burke stated.

“That’s not a great history, That’s not the history we want to keep repeating,” Mr. Burke stated. “We need to get that number down, but we also have a job to do next year and that is to educate our children, hopefully post pandemic, and get our children caught back up to where we need to be.”

There continues to be some work to be achieved on the plan, Mr. Burke stated.

“This is a draft budget and we will still continue to fine-tune numbers as they come in,” Mr. Burke stated. “We will be getting those out to you as they come in.”

The board will maintain a budget listening to throughout its May 5 assembly. The public budget vote might be held on May 17.