July 1, 2024

The Lindbergh Schools Board of Education voted 6-0 on June 27 to approve the preliminary 2024-25 school year budget that will support district Compass Goals and includes an $827,965 operating surplus to begin strategically rebuilding reserve funds. This year’s budget will allow the district to maintain and continue current programming  to support student learning and to continue a fiscally responsible plan to balance recurring expenses with recurring revenue. Vice President Jennifer Miller was not in attendance.

The budget includes $97,216,256 in operating revenues and $96,388,291 in operating expenditures. The Debt Service revenues and expenditures are $16,740,000 and $11,001,763,respectively. This includes a planned surplus per the debt amortization schedule. The Proposition R 2024 bond proceeds revenue, and related expenditures will be added to the budget as an amendment when the bonds are sold on July 9, 2024.

Over the past several years, the board of education and the district leadership team have strategically spent operating reserve funds to update facilities, install new heating and cooling systems, replace outdated, broken furniture, and support the implementation of one-to-one technology for students. In the 2024-25 fiscal year, the Board of Education and administration are committed to rebuilding operating reserve funds by critically evaluating expenditures and using a new tool, the “Decision Making Framework Process,”  for any post-adoption requested additions to the budget. 

Estimated revenue and expenditure totals were presented to the Board of Education during a workshop on April 18, and a preliminary revenue budget was approved on June 27.   

Lindbergh School's largest source of revenue is local taxes. Final local revenue numbers depend on the assessed valuation of local property by St. Louis County, which will not be available until early September. The 2024 calendar year is a non-reassessment year for St. Louis County, and based on historical trends, the district does not expect significant growth in the assessed valuation of local property. The most recent St. Louis County property reassessment year, 2023, resulted in a more than a usual-number of tax protests. The district must pay back the local tax revenue received when residents and business owners successfully protest their assessed valuation with the Missouri State Tax Commission. In 2023-24, the district had to pay back $1,053,085 in local tax revenue for this reason. 

On the bright side, Missouri adjusted the State Basic Formula calculation adequacy target this year, generating an estimated $3 million additional funding for Lindbergh Schools. Final Average Daily Attendance, a key component in the State Basic Formula, has yet to be finalized, so this revenue line item is also considered preliminary at the June 27, 2024, budget adoption date. 

Upon the availability of local and state data in August, the district will promptly revise total revenue projections based on the final figures. These revisions will then be presented to the board for approval. It's important to note that the budget is a dynamic document, subject to updates to revenue and expenditure projections as needed. These updates will be brought forward to the board as amendments during monthly board meetings.

For more information, please visit go.lindberghschools.ws/budget.