The Atlantic Community School District will need to make some substantial cuts in its budget over the next five years. That was the word Monday night from Iowa Association of School Board Finance Director Gary Sinclair. Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein told KJAN News the Sinclair demonstrated a financial planning tool that will enable the district to reign-in its spending practices.

Sinclair showed the Board of Education a model of a five year projection with one-year action tool that looks at past and current budgets, along with current trends. Amstein says the district’s biggest issue is overspending, which is eating into its unspent balance. He says if the district continues with its spending habits without making any adjustments or reductions to the budget, the district’s unspent balance will be at zero, which is not where they want to be.

Amstein says Sinclair pointed out $480,000 needs to be cut in fiscal year 2016 in order to meet the district’s financial goals. The process of reducing costs he says, will be one that will be ongoing over the next two-to three-years. Amstein said the budgeting tool will allow them to examine every spending process and focus on putting together a prioritized list for areas to be reduced.

He says they’re not in a position right now to recommend any cuts. They are and have been looking at reducing costs for the current year’s budget, but he admits that having 80-percent of that committed to salaries, there’s not much they can do with that aspect of the budget.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board approved a request for Modified Allowable Growth and Supplemental Aid for a Special Education Dept. deficit.  The Special Ed deficit this past year, according to Amstein, was about $460,000.

They also approved several resignations in the Food Service Department, the retirement of a custodian, and the resignation of High School Guidance Secretary Jess Erhman.