By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board approved a $52.4 million budget at Monday night's meeting.
The board conducted a required public hearing on the budget. No one from the public spoke at the meeting.
The budget includes a slight decrease in the total mill levy. The proposed mill levy for the 2020-21 budget is 41.175 mills compared to 42.145 mills in the 2019-20 school year.
Eight mills of the total mill levy are dedicated to capital improvements — the same levy for capital improvements as last school year.
Chris Hipp, assistant superintendent of business services, said the district budgets more in capital outlay funds than it plans to spend. This allows the district to be flexible if it has a facilities emergency. Internally, the district has budgeted to have a capital outlay carry over at the end of the year.
Actual expenditures for the 2019-20 school year were $49.3 million
Assessed valuation for the district was down from $326.1 million in 2019-20 to $322.9 million in 2020-21.
The school board also approved 3.6 mills for the Hays Recreation Commission. These are pass-through funds.
The budget also includes an approximate 2.48 percent raise for both certified and classified staff.
Average pay for full-time teachers in the school district for 2020-21 will be $64,452.
Board member Craig Pallister said he was pleased to see a continued focus in the budget on student instruction and support services, which remains above 60 percent.
"One of the keys is that Chris has been in the classroom," Superintendent Ron Wilson said. "He has been an educator, and he knows the classroom. If we ask for an increase in a line item, he understands why."
Substitute pay
The school board also approved a pay increase for substitute teachers in anticipation of a substitute teacher shortage this school year.
Wilson told the board at its last meeting Hays has the lowest substitute pay in the area. He said he thought the district would need to increase its pay this year to be competitive.
He also said he is anticipating an increased need for subs this year because of the pandemic.
