Kennett finance committee: Greenwood sewer low bid, budget scenarios could reduce proposed tax increase

At a combined meeting on March 4, 2024, Kennett Consolidated SD finance staff reported a low bid for the Greenwood on‑site sewer and walked the committee through preliminary budget scenarios tied to potential state funding.

Mister Tracy told the committee that the bid opening for Greenwood on‑site sewer produced two bids and that he will recommend next week the board approve a contract to Quantum Environmental Enterprises; he said the low bid was $367,700 and the work is expected to occur over the summer to avoid disrupting classes.

Tracy provided a broader budget update, noting the district is monitoring special education expense trends and intermediate unit billings (the IU category exceeds $4,000,000 in service costs) and identifying several revenue 'givens' that affect the millage calculation. He said an unbudgeted increase to the Ready to Learn grant—reported at roughly $900,000 this year, compared with a historical allocation of about $400,617—adds roughly $500,000 to projected revenue.

Using scenarios tied to the governor’s proposed basic education funding, Tracy presented three illustrative cases: using 50% of an estimated $1.3M allocation would push the proposed real estate tax increase below 3% (about 2–3.94% in his scenarios), while a full allocation could reduce the increase to approximately 2% without changing the expense side. He recommended the committee assume a conservative 50% of the proposed state funding when preparing budgets for public presentation.

Next steps: Tracy will place the Greenwood sewer contract recommendation on next week’s board agenda and bring the proposed final budget to the board in April to reflect updated state allocations and benefit renewal outcomes.