The North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation’s 2017 budget was approved this week. On Monday, the Starke County Council approved a resolution setting the appropriations and tax rates in the district. Then on Tuesday, it was the school board’s turn to consider several budget items.
Business Manager and Treasurer Guy Richie told the school board the proposed $7,035,070 General Fund budget is the lowest he’s seen in nearly 30 years at the corporation. He added that the corporation’s proposing $971,262 for the Capital Projects Fund and $215,000 for bus replacement. That includes the purchase of two full-sized buses.
However, Richie says getting another smaller, wheelchair-accessible vehicle will require an extra step. “If you have a bus that’s not 12 years or older, you need a petition,” he explained. “Well, our MPVs – that’s the little white buses – we’ve run a lot of miles between special ed services. They run all day between here, Knox, and Plymouth, and we’re getting an excessive amount of miles on them. So one of them, we want to replace it but not trade it because we need it for a backup.”
Richie noted that the corporation will have a better idea of how many of the buses it can replace once he hears back from the Department of Local Government Finance in December. The North Judson-San Pierre School Board unanimously approved the 2017 Capital Projects and Bus Replacement plans, among other budgetary measures.
