Cape school board approves $168 million budget

The Cape Henlopen school board unanimously approved a $167.7 million budget for the 2024 fiscal year.

At the board’s Feb. 8 meeting, Cape Director of Business Operations Oliver Gumbs said the budget reflects a $16 million increase in operations and a $20 million decrease in capital improvement projects from last year’s budget, which was $171.9 million.

The budget will fund all priorities and contract obligations, and will maximize the use of all state-earned units, Gumbs said.

Included in the budget is local funding for increased utility costs, to sustain the FAME after-school program and for the district mentoring program. State funding is allocated for opportunity grants, world immersion, safety and security initiatives and early childhood programs.

Reductions include $180,000 in program efficiency and budget reallocations, including a one-time reduction of $100,000 from the athletics equipment allocation; a $50,000 reduction in the homebound instruction allocation; a $5,000 reduction in the ESL translation allocation; and a $25,000 reduction in the clerical overtime local share.

Reserve funding set-asides include $100,000 for furniture replacement, $100,000 for certificate of necessity planning, $100,000 for employee retirement payouts and $55,000 for band uniform/equipment replacement.

The district receives 50.88% of its funding from the state, 46.45% from local and 2.67% from federal. State salaries account for $66.5 million of the budget, with the local portion being $35.9 million.

Federal programs include funding for 21st Century grants at Milton Elementary.

The full budget is available at tinyurl.com/39pymspy.