Christin Williams

Education 650

Standard Activity 9.41A

Supervision of the Budget

In reviewing and analyzing the General Budget Revenue for Kanawha County Schools

for the years of 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. This is honestly the first time I have even taken the

time to review this type of information in detail. It has definitely been an eye-opener! However, I

must admit that I still do not completely understand the various categories in the budget or what

they represent.

At a first glance, I noticed the following things just by looking at a chart provided with

both budgets. The budget for the 2017-2018 school year was smaller than the 2018-2019 budget

by $3,581,894. This was due to different amounts of funding provided by the State Aid, Regular

Levy, Excess Levy, and Local Funding. I have created the following chart of my own in order to

better understand the major points of funding, compared between the two years.

2017-2018 Funding % 2018-2019 Funding %

State Aid $124,072,891 54.27% (54%) $127,037,444 54.71% (55%)
Regular Levy $55,527,804 24.29% (24%) $56,048,416 21.14% (24%)
Excess Levy $44,167,342 19.32% (20%) $44,154,071 19.02% (19%)
Local Aid $4,853,000 2.12% (2%) $4,963,000 2.12% (2%)
Total $228,621,037 100% $232,202,931 100%

As you can see, the percentages are almost identical as to where the funding came from,

however, slight adjustments (in terms of millions of dollars) allowed the budget to slightly

increase, which is a good thing. If I am being frank, I am surprised that the budget increased. The

reason being is that the levies and other funding come from taxes paid by public citizens. In the

past several years, the county and state have both lost large numbers in their populations due to

people moving and leaving the state, mainly due to economic struggles.
 When looking at the KCS Budget Report #01 for 2019 Revenue only, I noticed that the

“Staff Development” budget was increased by $115,530. That is a great improvement, which can

allow for some greatly appreciated and needed professional development throughout the county!

When I began reviewing the KCS Budget Report #03 by Function I noticed that the

budget for supplies – general increased a great deal from $887,000.00 to $1,066,290.00 in 2018-

2019 and books, periodicals, and software increased from $1,368,690.00 in 2017-2018 to

$1,432,610.00 in 2018-2019. It was shocking that supplies- technology related decreased

drastically from $931,550.00 to $674.668.00. I would have thought technology supplies would

increase along with the supplies – general and books, periodicals, and software.

One factor of the budget that was far different in the 2017-2018 budget compared to the

2018-2019 budget was the RESA component. I was informed that we no longer have RESA,

which caused a reduce in funding by $536,240.00. This is a significant drop in funding which

could cause major problems in other expenditures.

After reviewing and comparing both budgets, I have been able to take a deeper look into

what goes into large expenditures and budgets. I can honestly say that I never quite realized just

how precise these budgets are and how all funds must be allocated for in a detailed manor.

School budgets are a very complex factor of being in a school district leadership position.