The Hopkins Board of Education Monday night made the difficult choice of approving a 2020-21 fiscal year budget showing a $507,523 deficit.

The shortfall will be absorbed in the district’s fund balance, or rainy day fund, reducing that amount to 13.93 percent of the total budget.

The reason for the deficit is the recent COVID-19 health crisis and resultant economic downturn that has caused a decrease in state aid support, the largest source of revenue for public schools.

“The board has worked hard to build our fund balance back up, setting a goal of 15%, growing it up from its lowest point of below 5% back in 2012/13, to finally reaching and surpassing their goal at the end of this fiscal year,” explained Business Manager Katie Jager. “Tonight’s budget will bring us back down, just below 14%.”

Jager said she anticipates an estimated $650 per pupil cut in state aid, which will result in a loss of $1,050,000 in revenues, and losing approximately 30 students, which will reduce the budget by about $205,000 more.

Enrollment this fall is estimated at 1,610, or 30 fewer than a year ago and Jager expects a drop in per-pupil funding from $8,111 to $7,461.

“We will receive some additional funding next year from AAESA of around $60,000 due to savings they had in their special education 2019/20 budget, which they will flow through a portion of to us next fiscal year,” she added. “We also received $76,000 of CARES federal funding due to the COVID-19 shutdown that allowed us to purchase devices and save that area from our budget in 20/21.

“Additionally we made staffing reductions of $350,000 due to retirements, resignations and reduction in hours. We reduced the budget further by $90,000 finding curriculum purchase savings and textbook and supplies line-item reductions from within our building and department budgets.”

The district currently levies 10.34 mills on all homestead, non-homestead, commercial, industrial, qualified agricultural, and qualified forest properties for debt and 1.60 mills for the sinking fund. The non-homestead property millage rate remains at 18 mills.

Revenue for the next fiscal year budget $15,148,037, with about $13.2 million of that expected in state aid. Expenditures have been pegged at $15,655,560. The difference of slightly more than $500,000 will be made up by the fund balance, reducing it to $2,180,972.