T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Executive Director of Finance and Operations Randy Denham tells Marshalltown Community School Board President Sean Heitmann and other board members about reasons for a $16 million budget amendment for this fiscal year. The reasons for the amendment are due to the timing of deliveries, such as buses and furnishing, filling more open positions than anticipated and increased food costs.

The Marshalltown Community School District Board of Education approved a $16 million budget amendment during the regular Monday night meeting. The amendment pertains to the budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which ends June 30.

According to Executive Director of Finance and Operations Randy Denham, the amendment will not increase the taxes levied. He explained the process used for the amendment.

“As part of the budget process for next year, we re-estimate what we’re going to anticipate the ending this year,” Denham said.

He reevaluated the four functional areas the board is responsible for – total support services, non-instructional programs, instruction and total other expenditures, and determined an amendment slightly less than $16.4 million was necessary. Instruction was increased $5.5 million; total support services, $2.7 million; non-instructional, $580,000 and; other expenditures, $7.5 million

“Most of that is timing [for] instructional areas, [such as] furnishings for the [Marshalltown High School] CTE (Career & Technical Education), a lot of which came in early . . . also we did a really good job of filling some of our instructional positions, filling more than we anticipated,” Denham said.

For the total support services, he said the reason for the increase is the timing of the buses on back order coming in, some safety grant expenditures and technology projects throughout the district. Denham said three of the buses came in earlier than expected.

The increase in non-instructional programs is due to the higher than anticipated cost of food and service supplies, which he said is due to tariffs and inflation.

Timing is also the reason for the increase in other expenditures, as construction on the CTE project was wrapping up and the district was preparing to start work on Franklin Field.

“A lot of these things that come up, we don’t necessarily have a full grasp or picture of,” Denham said.

He said approving the amendment was just part of the normal process.

Moving on to another finance agenda item, the board approved using the $154,681 Education Support Personnel Salary Supplement as a one-day per diem for hourly personnel for their May 30 paycheck.

“Last spring, late in the legislative session, the legislature approved a $14 million salary supplement . . . for school districts for education support personnel,” Denham told the board members.

In June, after school districts submitted surveys to the Iowa Department of Education outlining hourly staff and average hourly rates, that information helped with the calculations. He said districts received $28.78 per pupil, which is how the $154,681 total for MCSD was determined. According to Denham, the legislation specifically stated the funds had to be supplemental in nature.

“Originally it was thought that districts could use that to offset the salary increases that were given to staff, but recent guidance has shown that that has to be supplemental,” he said. “The challenge with that is that negotiations and salary schedules would occur and be wrapped up, and the funds had to be spent within the current year.”

After meeting with Superintendent Theron Schutte, Denham said they felt it was appropriate to use the funds similar to how COVID-19 pandemic funds were used.

In other business, board members:

• Approved the purchase of 204 S. 12th St. for the upcoming Reimagine Miller Middle School project.

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

bradstream@timesrepublican.com.