The Fountain Hills Unified School District Governing Board approved the 2016-17 budget of $12,091,006 following a public hearing during the July 6 meeting.

Before final approval of a budget, the board must first hold a public hearing for questions and comments. The budget presented during the July 6 meeting was the same as the proposed budget that was approved during the June 22 meeting and is available for review by the public on the district website (fhusd.org) or by visiting the District Office.

No discussion was offered during the public hearing and the budget was approved unanimously later in the meeting.

As discussed during the June 22 meeting, the 2016-17 budget shrank from the previous year due to two factors. For starters, the unweighted student count, based on the 100 day count, went from 1,618.71 last year to 1,505.13 this year, or a loss of about 113.58 students. Since the Maintenance and Operations budget is based on student population, a smaller number of students means a smaller budget for the upcoming academic year.

The other big difference in budgets is monies provided by Prop 123. As FHUSD Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sweeney explained in June, the previous year’s budget jumped by more than $300,000 due to the voter-approved proposition, which widened the gap between the 2015-16 budget and the one for the upcoming school year.

The base support level for students this school year has gone up by about $36, making a base level amount of $3,681.09 per student for 2016-17.

Another impact on this year’s budget is the teacher experience index. Due to a handful of retirees, FHUSD will see a slight decline from this portion of the equation.

In the end, the base support level for FHUSD this academic year is $7,324,313, down $625,450 from the previous year. Again, half of that difference can be attributed to the Prop 123 monies (which can be carried forward into the new budget).

With all other monies, unrestricted capital, Title VIII-Impact Aid, etc. taken into account, FHUSD is this year looking at a total adopted budget of $12,091,006.