By ADAM STEWART

Staff writer

With lower than expected enrollment and possible funding cuts from the state, the USD 410 Board of Education will have to find savings of $100,000 to $190,000 in the 2009 fiscal year budget.

In the best-case scenario — the state leaving school funding the same — USD 410 would need to save about $104,306 from its budget, business manager Jerry Hinerman said Monday. The 2009 budget is about $6.9 million.

If the state cuts base-aid per pupil 6.5 percent, that number grows to $187,636, but that is as bad as it gets, Hinerman said.

The good news is that the district is projecting about a $141,500 savings already. The biggest savings are in technology staffing, bus fuel, and utilities.

Interim Superintendent Doug Huxman emphasized it still was conjecture whether the state would cut school funding, but it is important for the district to save what it can.

“We need to differentiate between wants and needs,” Huxman said.

In other business:

• Bids for construction on the athletic facility opened Thursday. The board will have a special meeting 7 p.m. Monday at the district office to approve bids.
• The board went into closed session with Huxman for 45 minutes to discuss personnel.
• Contract extensions with principals Greg Brown, Max Heinrichs, and Evan Yoder were approved. The contracts go through the 2010-11 school year. Brown will continue to earn $59,562 per year; Heinrichs, $70,000; and Yoder, $67,768.
• USD 410 and Tabor College will share insurance costs for the joint athletic facility. USD 410 will pay for property insurance and be reimbursed one-half by the college. Tabor will pay for liability insurance, and the district will reimburse the college for one-half.