By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

RESERVE – The St. John the Baptist Parish school district administration will unveil the proposed budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year at a school board meeting Thursday.

The budget will be presented to school board members for their review before they vote on the matter Sept. 1.

The proposed budget projects nearly $57 million in expenditures for the current fiscal year but also estimates expenditures at $62 million. Because of this discrepancy, the district will once again have to dip into the general fund to make up the difference. Executive Director of Business and Finance Felix Boughton estimates less than $200,000 will remain in the general fund at the end of the 2011-12 year.

This is in line with what he predicted at the beginning of the last fiscal year.

There will be a public hearing on the budget Sept. 1 at 4 p.m. before the meeting to vote on the budget. It will be held at the St. John School Board Office in Reserve. The budget is available at the School Board Office during normal working hours prior to the hearing.

A final budget must be approved by the school board by Sept. 15 so it can be sent to the state by the Sept. 30 deadline.

For the past couple of years, the St. John Parish school district has struggled to make ends meet as state funding as well as tax revenue has dwindled and unfunded state mandates have skyrocketed. Last year, to avoid layoffs, the district implemented four unpaid furlough days for all district employees.