Members of the Fayette County School Board are expected to take a final vote on the school system’s $185 million budget at a called meeting June 30. The budget includes a reserve “contingency” fund of less than 1 percent.

The $185 million general fund budget for 2009-2010 represents a decrease from the $197 million budget adopted this time last year. Various cutbacks throughout the past year led to the decrease for the new budget that will take effect July 1.

Though the budget contains a $1.5 million contingency, that amount could be far from adequate if state cuts from the past several years are any measure of cuts to come.

Comptroller Laura Brock told board members last week that additional cuts in state funding are anticipated, though there was no way to know the extent of the cuts or when they might occur.

Upcoming property tax revenues were estimated at $90,590,742, along with $93,906,583 in state funds and $1 million in other local receipts, Brock said.

She had previously estimated the local revenues to be a result of a 2 percent decrease in the tax digest with a 93 percent collection rate. The collection rate last year was 94 percent, she said.

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