JCPS leaders approve significantly larger budget for 2017-2018 school year

Jefferson City Public Schools is planning for a significantly larger budget in the upcoming school year.

On Tuesday, the JCPS Board of Education approved the proposed budget for the 2017-2018 school year.

The district expects more than $91 million in additional revenues, including student activity balances, for a total of $193.4 million in revenues.

ABC 17 News reported that voters approved a $130 million bond issue in April for the construction of a second public high school. Voters also approved a 45-cent tax levy to operate the new school as well as fund some additional needed resources for grades K-12.

The upcoming school year’s budget will only include a 20-cent portion of the levy since the new school will not yet have been built.

With the expected additional revenue, the district plans to spend more money in a few areas in the 2017-2018 school year. Total expenditures are expected to be about $131.4 million.

The district plans to spend about $27 million more on capital projects for next year’s estimated construction costs of the second high school and renovations to the current high school.

The district also expects to spend about $2.2 million more in salaries, with employee raises and the hiring of 17 additional full-time employees.

“We’re continuing to add instructional supports. One of the main focuses is with behavior supports to help our students that have behavior issues,” said Jason Hoffman, the JCPS chief financial officer. “We’ve had to add classroom teachers at our middle schools as our surge of elementary students is moving into the middle school.”

With the additional funds from the tax levy voters passed, the district will also be able to spend $1 million on new math textbooks for grades K-12.

It will also boost technology districtwide and provide more devices for students in grades K-8.