BUDGET SUMMARY
Budget Year 2023-2024

To view the MCS 2023-2024 Budget, click here !

Monroe City School Board serves approximately 49,300 citizens of the 31.6 square miles of the City of Monroe. The district is divided into seven educational districts, each served by a representative of the Monroe City School Board. The district consists of twelve elementary schools, three junior high schools, three high schools, and one alternative school.

Monroe City Schools strives to implement instruction that maintains grade-level consistency as well as vertical alignment to prepare students for the future. All management and decisions are designed to maximize teaching and learning within the district.

Core Beliefs

Children are our most precious resource.
All children can learn and must be provided equitable opportunities to learn.
All students must be provided the opportunity to achieve their highest potential.
The learning experiences of students should help them become productive and responsible citizens.

Our curriculum must be comprehensive and responsive to the needs of all students.
Partnerships with students, parents, community, and schools are vital for the development of all children.
All students and employees have the right to work and learn in a safe and orderly setting.
A supportive environment encourages creative problem-solvers and effective decision makers.
Continuous professional improvement and growth opportunities for all staff members are crucial to our success.

Our school district provides the best opportunity for students to practice real life skills necessary for success in a culturally diverse society.

Monroe City School Board’s proposed budget for 2023-24 reflects the district’s goal for the “Foundation for the Future - Building Today for Tomorrow”. The district continues to provide the necessary resources to uphold its commitment to providing educational opportunities to the student population; to monitor and improve the quality and performance of the school system; to assume a leadership role; to employ staff that is dedicated to the maintenance of an outstanding school system; and to emphasize continued improvement by the citizenry for the benefit of the young people of the district.

The budget reflects the Board’s following goals:

Interpret the educational needs and aspirations of the community through the formulation of policies which stimulate the learner and the learning process;
Manage the school system in accordance with statutory requirements;
Provide leadership in each school in order that the goals and objectives of the school system can be effectively carried out;
Maintain two-way communication with the various publics served by the schools in order to interpret public attitudes, to identify policies and procedures of the schools, and to encourage public involvement with the understanding of the schools; and
Develop and provide the data appropriate for the management functions of planning, evaluating, organizing, controlling, and executing.

Monroe City School Board continues to adapt to changes as a result of COVID-19 znd prioritize spending to best protect its students and employees.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal grants were awarded to Monroe City School Board to assist in its prevention of, preparation for, and response to COVID-19, as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The district received the following allocations:

ESSER (Strong Start) – available through September 2022
ESSER II (Achieve!) – available through September 2023
IDEA 611 ARP– available through September 2023
IDEA 619 ARP– available through September 2023
ESSER III (Achieve!) – available through September 2024

Homeless ARP– available through September 2024

Allowable costs and specific priorities vary between the specific allocations. As part of Achieve!, Monroe City School Board is allowed to utilize these funds to address applicable needs at district facilities. Because this is federal funding, a pre-approval is required for capital expenditures and equipment expenditures. The following expenditures have been approved either through the budgetary process or the pre-approval process thus far:

COVID-19 related Supplemental Pay for staff

Reimbursement for COVID-19 related leave and substitute pay
Smartboards
HVAC repairs
Busses (up to 12)
Outdoor learning areas

Playground upgrades
Roof repairs
School-based Medical Clinic (Wossman HS)
Restroom Renovations (Jr. High & High Schools)
Bottle fillers (District-wide)

Summer Camp
PPE, sanitation, antibacterial and disinfectant supplies
WiFi/MiFi
After-school Tutoring
Additional CNA positions

Professional Development
Academic Mentors
Press Box Renovations
Band Room Expansions
Tuition Reimbursement

Virtual Playgrounds for Special Needs Students
Literacy Coaches
Gym Expansion (Sallie Humble)

The budget will be closely monitored to ensure that the Board’s goals are met within its financial capacity.

The documents provided in the following budgets will illustrate in further detail the monetary resources put in place to provide a world class education to the student population of Monroe City School Board.

Minimum Foundation Program (MFP)

The Minimum Foundation Program formula that is adopted by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) and approved by the Legislature, determines the cost of a minimum foundation program of education in all public elementary and secondary schools and helps to allocate the funds equitably to school districts throughout the state of Louisiana. The Minimum Foundation Program is the largest source of revenue for Monroe City School Board and its General Fund. After all required mandates are met; Monroe City School Board has the flexibility to spend MFP funding to meet the needs of its schools and students as deemed necessary.

Because MFP is directly tied to student enrollment, Monroe City School Board has faced the challenge of unstable enrollment in the district’s student population over the past few years. Louisiana Department of Education obtains student enrollment counts twice during each fiscal year. The initial count of the district’s student enrollment is submitted for October 1st, and the second count is submitted for February 1st. Any fluctuation in the enrollment count from February 1st to October 1st and from October 1st to February 1st, requires a mid-year adjustment reflecting either an increase or decrease of MFP funding as determined by the changes in enrollment. Below is a chart illustrating the student enrollment for the last five years, based on the February 1st enrollment for each fiscal year.

The Louisiana Legislature did not approve a new Minimum Foundation Program formula; therefore, the previously approved formula for the 2022 Regular Session remains in effect. As a result, there are no changes to the components of the formula for 2023-24. The per pupil base remained unchanged from the prior four years at $4,015 in Level 1 funding. In addition to Student Enrollment, the MFP also determines weighted add-on student units in the following categories also applicable to Level 1 per pupil funding:

Economically Disadvantaged

Career & Technical Units
Students with Disabilities
Gifted & Talented Students
Economy-of-Scale: If Feb 1st membership is less than 7,500 (Not applicable)

The MFP Level 4 funding for 2023-24 consists of Certificated and Support Worker raises and associated retirement costs, the Supplemental Course Allocations and Career Development Fund. With the Supplemental Course Allocation ($241,290 for initial allocation for 2023-24) and the Career Development Funds of $241 per student enrolled in a Career Development Fund qualifying course ($136,286 for the initial allocation for 2023-24) in MFP, the district maintains JumpStart Programs throughout the district’s three high schools. This program continues to prepare students for the workplace through integrated curricula, state-of-the-art equipment and other opportunities uncommon in K-12 education. The core areas of implementation are:

Business & Entrepreneurship
Healthcare
Information Technology
Manufacturing & Skilled Trades

With these programs, the district continues to experience growth in both, student participation and student opportunities. The district continues to collaborate with local businesses in the community to build partnerships and student internship opportunities; with hopes of awarding students valuable workplace experience, graduation credits, and other possible rewards upon successful completion.

Sales & Use Taxes

Sales tax revenues are the second largest source of revenue for Monroe City School Board. In 1968, the voters of Ouachita Parish authorized the Monroe City School Board and the Ouachita Parish School Board to jointly levy and collect a ½ cent sales and use tax. The net proceeds of the tax are to be allocated and prorated between the two school boards annually on the basis of average daily membership for the preceding school year. The sales and use tax revenues received by Monroe City School Board are designated and allocated in the following manner:

88% - Certified Salaries

12% - Classified Salaries

In 1994, the voters of the City of Monroe approved the levy of ½ cent sales and use tax. The net proceeds of the tax are to supplement salaries and benefits of certified teachers and other personnel and to provide additional funds for instructional activities. The sales and use tax revenues received are designated and allocated in the following manner:

60% - Certified Salaries and Benefits
10% - Classified Salaries and Benefits

30% - Instructional activities

In 2001, the voters of the City of Monroe approved a 1 cent sales and use tax for additional support for the district. The sales and use tax revenues received are designated and allocated in the following manner:

55% - Instructional programs, technology programs, and maintenance and operations
31% - Certified Salaries and Benefits

14% - Classified Salaries and Benefits

The local sales tax revenue recorded slight increases throughout the year. For 2022-23, the district’s sales tax revenue increased by a total of $1,070,764.

The following chart illustrates the fluctuation of sales tax revenue for 2022-23 compared to the previous year, 2021-22.

The chart below provides the total Sales and Use Tax revenues for the last five years.

Ad Valorem Taxes

Ad valorem, or property tax, revenues are the third largest source of revenue for Monroe City School Board. The Sheriff of Ouachita Parish bills and collects property taxes on behalf of Monroe City School Board using the assessed values determined by the tax assessor of Ouachita Parish.

Each year millages are levied for Monroe City School Board to generate revenues for the district that are expended for operations, maintenance, and debt service. The following chart illustrates the ad valorem tax revenue for the last five years, including an estimate for June 30, 2023.

Expenditures

Salaries and benefits account for 76% of the district estimated expenditures. Below is a chart that illustrates the estimated expenditures for Monroe City School Board’s major operating funds, which included the following:

General Fund
1968 Sales Tax

1994 Sales Tax
2001 Sales Tax
School Food Service

The following chart will focus on the General Fund, Sales Tax Funds and the School Food Service Funds, which represent the district’s major funding sources.

This proposed budget also provides the details of other revenue sources that Monroe City School Board utilizes to support its goals and objectives.

BUDGET SUMMARY Budget Year 2023-2024

​