- St. Johns Superintendent Anthony Berthiaume prioritizes budgeting for students, but school budgets are often uncertain until after June 30.
- The state’s budget deadline is October 1, creating a timing challenge for schools to finalize their budgets.
- Berthiaume notes two major unknowns: per-pupil funding and student enrollment numbers by June 30.
- A $20 billion spending bill, passed by 58 Republicans and one Democrat, includes 75% for school aid, ensuring funding if the state budget isn’t finalized by September 30.
- Democrats argue the bill could lead to cuts in essential student programs, especially for those in need.
Providing for the students of St. Johns Public School is Superintendent Anthony Berthiaume's top priority.
"When you're budgeting for a home, you usually know what's going to come," St. Johns Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Berthiaume said.
Where to spend and where to save...
"For school districts, that's not necessarily the case," Berthiaume said.
For schools in our neighborhoods, budgets are expected to be finalized by June 30.
Here's the challenge: the state's budget deadline is October 1.
Berthiaume tells me they'll plan ahead as best they can—watching the state's finances and preliminary budgets throughout the year—but it doesn't solve every problem.
"There are two things we don't know by June 30, and that's sometimes our school aid funding—what we are going to get per pupil and any categorical funding that goes with it—and we also don't know our enrollment," Berthiaume said.
"We hear you, and so we're saying we can do that right now," Speaker of the House Matt Hall said.
On Thursday, 58 Republicans and one Democrat passed a 20 billion dollar spending bill. Seventy-five percent of it was allocated for school aid funding.
Speaker of the House Matt Hall says the bill will help fund essential programs like schools if lawmakers are unable to finalize an agreed-upon budget by September 30.
"We can ensure that they're funded through the next fiscal year, and then let's get to work, going line by line through the budget, getting value for your tax dollars," Hall said.
But the battle isn't over.
Democrats from both chambers argued that passing the budget would mean cuts to programs for students in need.
"It is a false choice to give a group of people an option to vote on a bill that reduces funding by 92% or shut down the government," Democratic Leader Ranjeev Puri said.
Though the budget process is still ongoing, Berthiaume says having some numbers ahead of time will help plan for the new year.
"That's how we make our decisions—how it's going to impact the classroom—and we want to make sure our students have the appropriate resources," Berthiaume said.
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