The 2022-2023 school year was the focus of the Columbia Public Schools Finance Committee meeting Wednesday. Chief Financial Officer Heather McArthur presented updates on budgeting for capital projects and the costs for next year’s proposed salary schedules.
Capital projects
The committee voted in favor of recommending that the Columbia School Board grant approval to plan, bid and contract the capital projects for the 2022-2023 budget.
During a presentation before the vote, McArthur showed a list of the expenditures.
The district hopes to accelerate planning, bidding and contracting of certain 2022-2023 projects and other capital project fund expenditures. This would allow projects set for the summer to be finished before the start of the school year.
The total budgeted capital expenditures for the year is $76.8 million. This includes projects covered under the bond issue that voters approved by a wide margin Tuesday.
“We are excited because our new bond was passed last night,” McArthur said.
The $80 million bond will be issued in two $40 million increments with the first one in 2022 and the second in 2024. It will fund construction of two elementary schools, renovations to the Columbia Area Career Center, an addition to Battle Elementary School and other capital improvements.
Financial update
In another presentation, McArthur provided the costs of the proposed salary schedules for the upcoming school year.
The total cost of salary plus benefits in the 2022-2023 school year will be $10.02 million. The cost of salary schedule improvement for all employees is more than $4 million.
As has been reported, starting pay for teachers in the district will exceed $40,000 for the first time next year under an agreement reached by the school district and the teachers’ union, the Columbia Missouri National Education Association. This year, the average annual salary was $39,050.
McArthur’s financial update included the cost of one-time additions and deductions for the coming school year, totaling $1.17 million. This includes school furniture and fixtures, world languages materials and Battle High School band uniforms.
Recurring additions and deductions for the upcoming school year will cost $1.58 million. Grant-funded recurring additions total $1.02 million. Some of those additions are funded by federal COVID-19 relief money called Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER).
