The Fayette County School Board is doing more than waiting to see how things play out with more state cuts this year. The board heard a presentation by Comptroller Laura Brock at the Jan. 26 meeting that centered on the 2011 budget cycle that begins in July. Brock gave the board a look at several factors that could influence budget calculations.

Brock provided information on potential austerity cuts, the upcoming tax digest, healthcare costs and the Local Five Mill Share (LFMS).

Austerity cuts by the state, said Brock, have totaled $39.46 million in the past eight school years, with the largest cuts coming this year and totaling $12.65 million to date.

Brock emphasized that there is no current way to determine what form and magnitude austerity cuts in the coming school year might resemble. All indications have been that next year will be worse, partly because the state has already used most of its federal money. Consequently, the state will not see the same level of federal money to shore up the cuts, Brock said in a prepared statement.

The tax digest, too, is a potential concern for next school year’s budget. Brock said the tax assessor’s office knows that the digest will decrease but that level is currently unknown.

Brock noted that every 1 percent decrease in the tax digest represents approximately $900,000 in decreased local revenue.

Also on the budget radar are staff benefit costs. The school system currently pays a percentage of the state base for all certified employees.

That will change in July when the school system’s costs will be based on the specific plan chosen by individual employees. Brock said those costs could not be estimated since the school system has not received the accompanying data from the state. The result could be either positive or negative in terms of monetary impact, she said.

Brock in her comments on the potential impact of the LFMS said it represents a reduction to the school system’s state-funded Quality Basic Education (QBE) earnings formula.

The LFMS is affected by the tax digest and property sales ratios that are calculated annually by the state, Brock said.

The school system could find itself as much as $4 million to the negative in state revenue in this area, said Brock.