Budget approved for annual meeting

The Cedar Grove-Belgium School Board on Tuesday unanimously approved a preliminary 2019-20 budget to be presented at the district’s annual meeting in October.

State aid is expected to decrease by nearly $25,000, according to a July 1 estimate, but the district will get a $175 per-pupil increase. State aid is projected to be $5.9 million.

The district’s tax levy is slated to fall by 5%, or nearly $250,000. The district is proposing to tax to the revenue limit.

Property tax revenue is slated to fall by nearly $200,000 to $4.1 million.

Some of the notable items in the budget include:

• $200,000 for repair on a portion of the roof at the elementary school, with another $200,000 for the rest of the work to be put into next year’s budget;

• $69,000 for the purchase of the property known as Calvary Field from the Village of Cedar Grove. The district wanted the 4.4-acre parcel bordered by Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church and school district land to bring high school softball games back to campus. The land includes a baseball field. Its purchase was approved by the village in summer.

• $50,000 to be transferred from the general fund to the capital projects fund;

• Spending more than $15,000 from the general fund to cover a shortage in food service; and

• An additional $5,600 to the community services fund for the community services coordinator.

The preliminary budget was approved by Board President Chad Hoopman, Clerk Aileen Dahlke and members Dan Bruhn and Kurt Krause at a special meeting.

The district’s enrollment, determined from the third Friday in September, has not been finalized. Enrollment as of Sept. 11 was 961.

The high school has 295 students. The middle school — grades five through eight — is 281. The elementary school, including early childhood, is 385.

Last year’s enrollment decreased from 1,054 in 2017-18 to 1,038.

The annual meeting is at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, at the high school, in which residents may vote on the tax levy, with the monthly School Board meeting to follow.