LETTERS: JACKSON SETS BUDGET FIGURES STRAIGHT

To the editor:

This letter is to serve as a correction to the article printed on the front page of the Missouri March 10. When the original request for comparative data was received, the Jackson School District administration responded promptly with accurate information. Salary and budget figures were provided in the manner requested, and the administration clearly indicated that we would be happy to answer any additional questions. When the article appeared in the paper, we noted several problems with the numbers. Normally, we do not ask for corrections to incorrect stories. However, in this case we felt that responses in Speak Out were basing opinions on incorrect assumptions. To that end, the Jackson administration initiated a correction by contacting the reporter and clarifying a major problem area.

It is always difficult to make accurate comparisons because of the complexity of school finance and unique circumstances in each district. As you know, Jackson School District is in the midst of a major building program resulting from the passage of a $7.8 million bond issue. Upon sale of the bonds, these funds are deposited in the capital-projects fund to pay for expenses connected with the construction. Also included in this fund is money to purchase various types of necessary equipment such as computers, maintenance items and school buses. Obviously, the bond money is not present in the budget in most years. The request we received from the Missourian was for the 1997-98 budgeted expenditures. That number was correctly reported as $27,494,391. This number includes capital project money from the bond issue ($7,429,261). It should also be noted that this revised total does include debt-service fund money to pay the interest and principal on previously approved bonds. If a district does not have a debt-service levy or has a large lease-purchase program to pay for buildings, the total budget expenditures will be greater.

When reporting district budget data, it is important to compare these expenditures by fund to clearly understand how the districts compare. For example, a district may have a sizable budget figure allocated for operation of an area vocational school serving area high school students as well as adult populations (Cape Girardeau). A neighboring district (Jackson) may have fewer expenses in this category as it sends high school students to the area vocational school by paying a tuition fee. It is possible that some of the expenses of major programs, such as vocational education, special education or the alternative school program, may be covered by specific state or federal sources. However, these expenditures will be included in the budget expenditure total. The point is that comparisons are difficult.

I would also like to make one additional correction to the printed story. The reported average of Jackson building principals is $65,150. Our district has seven building principals and four assistant principals. The average of our building principals as a group is $56,143. The average salary of all 11 principals is $53,682.

If you need additional information or clarification, as always it is our intent to be open and accurate in the information we provide. Thank you for your continued efforts to keep the community informed.

DR. HOWARD JONES, Superintendent

Jackson School District

Jackson