Vestavia Hills school board considers $103 million budget for fiscal 2023
Vestavia Hills school officials are proposing to spend $103 million in fiscal 2023, the school system's chief finance officer shared during a budget hearing Monday.
The proposed 2023 budget includes $88.8 million in spending from the general fund, $9 million from the special revenue fund, over $2 million from the capital projects fund and $2 million from a fiduciary fund that receives non-public money collected for local school activities, including donations, ticket and concession sales and student organization fees, Chief Schools Finance Officer Courtney Brown said.
The general fund is the primary fund for the school district, and the special revenue fund allocates the proceeds of specific revenue sources that are legally restricted to spending for specific services.
On the revenue side, the school system expects to receive over $90 million for the general fund, over $8 million for the special revenue fund and over $2 million for the capital projects fund. The general fund has seen a $20 million increase in revenues and expenditures since 2016, Brown said.
Brown expects the school system to begin the fiscal year on Oct. 1 with $17.1 million and end the year on Sept. 30, 2023 with $18.1 million.
The Vestavia Hills Board of Education plans to hold a second public hearing on the proposed 2023 budget at noon on Sept. 12.
Also at Monday's school board meeting, Vestavia Hills High School Principal Tonya Rozell reported to the board that 86% of Vestavia high school students received a qualifying score on Advanced Placement exams for the 2021-2022 school year, which is the school’s highest percentage in five years.
A qualifying score on an AP exam is a 3 or higher, Rozell said.
“When our data came back, there was quite a lot of glee, joy and shouting in the counseling suite, which is right down the hall from my office,” Rozell said. “I was like ‘What in the world?’ They said ‘Go look in the dashboard, you have to see,’ and I understood why they were excited.”
In other business Monday, the school board:
- Approved spending to support the “One Rebel, One Future” initiative that will be used to promote the school system
- Approved a licensing agreement with Cummings Promotional to promote the school system
- Agreed to hire Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C. to assist with tax initiatives
- Approved the job description for career coaches in the school system
- Revised the salary/supplement schedule