Though there are wild cards out there, such as the Covid pandemic and lack of information about state aid, Wayland Union Schools Assistant Superintendent for Finances and Operations gave school board members an educated guess about next year’s budget.

The local school district was hammered financially by Covid in the 2020-21 academic year, but at the same time was able to save money on utilities and snow plowing.

Velie suggested Wayland Schools will take in about $34 million in revenue and spend the same to keep intact the $5.4 million fund balance, which is a reasonably healthy 16 percent. She maintained it’s just a blueprint for what is likely to happen down the road.

The assistant superintendent said she expects state aid to come in at $8,265 per pupil, compared to $8,111 a year ago, adding that state aid makes up about 90% of the schools’ revenue. The local millage rate will remain at 8.4. The revenue amount declined last year because of a loss of 183 students.

“We’re not the only district suffering a loss in enrollment (as a result of the Covid pandemic),” she said, estimating the statewide enrollment drop was about 5%.

Velie said about 82% of the district’s expenses are tied to personnel, including faculty and staff, because schools are a very person-intensive business.

In other business, Monday evening, the board approved renewal of the contract with Chartwell for food service, approved purchase of transportation routing services from Heiler Technologies, custodial service with GBR and purchase of bus cameras from Safety Vision. The board rejected a plan to offer a virtual option for instruction next year, insisting programs already are in place.