By Carolyn Cole
Published on March 6, 2008

Mustang School District will receive $95,210 less in state funding for March than first allocated due to a revenue shortfall, and officials worry it could be the tip of the iceberg.

Usually school districts receive 9 percent of their state funding each month, as the state Department of Education divvies up monies through the year. However, local school officials received notice Monday morning they would receive only 8.6 percent of their expected March check, which Superintendent Karl Springer said equals a cut of $95,000 in Mustang.

“Back in November we took some action to insulate ourselves a bit in case this happened,” he said.

Administrators put aside $200,000 into a fund earmarked to implement full-day kindergarten. Springer said in November he hoped to save $200,000 for three years, putting aside $600,000 to help cover the costs of hiring new kindergarten teachers during the full-day program’s first year. State law requires school districts to implement full-day kindergarten programs in August 2011, and Mustang must hire 16 additional teachers to move away from half-day classes.

Springer said school officials will pay for expenses from the full-day kindergarten fund to protect operations at facilities and in the classrooms.

“We made a move in November to take care of this today,” he said.

In three of the past four months, Oklahoma Treasurer Scott Meacham reported lower than expected tax revenue. In January, collected revenue was $38.5 million, or 6.7 percent, below the prior year and $25.7 million or 4.6 percent below the estimate. Revenue for October and November also fell short of last year’s collections and projections, both representing a 6.4-percent drop from the prior year.

Due to decreased tax collections, Oklahoma’s Education Reform Revolving Fund is expected to fall short by $37 million, Shawn Hime, assistant state superintendent for financial services, wrote to superintendents. In addition, Oklahoma’s lottery revenue has fallen $4.6 million short of projections.

Educators are asking lawmakers for a supplemental appropriation to make up the difference, but if no additional funds are received, Hime warned superintendents to expect a 2-percent cut in their state funding for this fiscal year.

Mustang would lose $475,000 in state aid if supplemental funding isn’t approved, MSD Finance Director Kay Medcalf said.

“I’m going to hope that doesn’t happen, but we can’t not be aware of it and plan accordingly,” she said.

Once Mustang School District weathers this fiscal year, Medcalf said she expects the district’s state aid will be cut again next year. In February, the Oklahoma Board of Equalization told legislators to cut $114 million from the upcoming state budget. The only way she said she’d expect state aid to increase is if the Mustang student population continues to grow.

“They have already told us the money is short,” she said. “We won’t have as much money in next year’s appropriation as this year.”

State lawmakers and Gov. Brad Henry could decide to use part of the Rainy Day Fund to supplement education funding, Medcalf said, but if revenue continues to fall, educators have to brace for next year. Springer said he expects districts to face additional cuts in April, and by then, leaders will know if supplemental funding is coming.

Hime wrote to superintendents state officials are considering funding on a month-by-month basis, and if a cut comes in April, it could be more or less than the March percentage.

Springer said most likely the amount set aside for full-day kindergarten could cover costs in April, and administrators will make plans for additional cuts in May and June.

At this time he said administrators do not plan to cut from school site budgets, and students and parents will not see a change in services.

“I want us to worry about it here and for them (principals) not to worry about it,” he said.