Crenshaw County Schools will operate on an $18.5 million budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year, if the board approves it at the September board meeting.

Chief Financial Officer Ken Wesley though the system will see an increase of $400,000 to its funding, it will essentially be level funding due to raises.

Wesley is projecting a $2.57 million beginning fund balance on Oct. 1, and a $2.71 million ending balance on Sept. 30, 2014.

Wesley said the system tries to limit its locally funded units in order to build up savings.

Wesley told the board the system has around 2.8 months of operating cost in reserve.

The state department of education requires that each school system maintain one month’s operating reserve, which for the county school system is on average $1.18 million.

Wes-ley has budgeted some $2.7 million for instructional services, $656,183 for instructional support services at Brantley School. Those categories include teachers and aides, to name a few.  Also budgeted is $248,980 in operations and maintenance services and $582,247 for auxiliary services, which includes bus and lunchroom and equipment services; other expenditures at Brantley include $84,546, for a total of $4.28 million at the school.

At Highland, Wesley has budgeted $3.42 million for instructional services; $672,536 for instructional support services; $322,185 for operations and maintenance; $757,682 for auxiliary services; and $125,295 in other expenditures, for a total of $5.3 million at the school.

At Luverne, $3.9 million is budgeted for instructional services; $739,025 is budgeted for instructional support services; $286,060 is budgeted for operations and maintenance; $858,156 is budgeted for auxiliary services; $19,200 is budgeted for general administrative services; $136,455 for other expenditures, for a total of $5.97 million.

Some $23,813 is budgeted for operations and expenses at the area vocational center; $20,000 is budgeted for purchased services in the instructional services category; $112,302 is budgeted in the in the operation maintenance category; and $546,240 in the student transportation category.

Some $2.52 million is budgeted under the board of education services category and includes $289,535 under the instructional support category, which includes personal services, employee benefits, purchased services and material and supplies; $116,500 is budgeted under operations and maintenance services; $1.15 million for general administrative services, which includes salary and benefits; $270,914 in capital outlay and $1,430 in other expenditures.

Under the debt service category, $214,480 is budgeted for long-term debt; $52,455 is budgeted for adult and continuing education.

The system is expected to earn 139.04 total units, which is up slightly from FY 2013’s 138.73.

The system will receive $11.65 million in allocations from the foundation program, which includes state funds with match money from the local level and is tied to last year’s average daily membership. At Brantley, the ADM was 599.60; 753.10 at Highland Home and 835.45 at Luverne. The ADM determines how many units the state will fund for each school.

That’s an increase of nearly $400,000. The county’s match for the foundation program is $1.27 million.

The system will also receive other state funds, which brings the total allocation, including foundation program to more than $12 million, up from $11.6 million in FY 2013. The system will also receive $2.03 million in federal revenues, which includes Title money and child nutrition.