Fort Wayne Community Schools must be firm about sticking to its budget as it adapts to revenue losses caused by the state’s new property tax reform law, the district’s chief financial officer told the board Monday after presenting next year’s $419 million spending plan.
“We’re going to have to learn to live by the budget that we create and say, ‘no,’ when it’s not in the budget,” CFO Rosie Shipman said. “We’re going to have to be very, very purposeful.”
The proposed budget addresses the needs of more than 28,000 students and 62 buildings, 50 of which are schools.
Senate Enrolled Act 1 will affect revenue for the district’s $86 million operation fund. This part of the budget is primarily supported by local property taxes. It generally pays for items not directly tied to instruction, incl