FRUITPORT, Mich. - The Fruitport Community Schools have bucked the trend of district financial troubles, due largely to the number of schools of choice students it receives each year, according to The Muskegon Chronicle.
The school board approved a final budget for the 2007-2008 school year with revenues of $29.3 million and expenditures of
$29.8 million. Even with the slight deficit, the district maintains a fund balance of $4.7 million. The district was in the position to purchase new textbooks and offer summer school to grades 1-12 for the first time, The Chronicle reported.
For the 2008-2009 school year, the district is estimating revenue of $29.7 million and expenditures of $30 million. This budget does not include estimates for increases in schools of choice students. The district has received about 50 new students over the past two years.
"We've had more (schools of) choice numbers than ever, and each year we get more," Superintendent Nicholas Ceglarek told The Chronicle. "But we think it's important to budget conservatively in this economy."
SOURCE:
The Muskegon Chronicle, "Choice students help Fruitport schools
finances," June 27, 2008
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Limited Educational Choice,"
in "The Case for Choice in Schooling," June 9, 2008
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