A proposed $4.9 million budget for the upcoming school year will be reviewed next week at a special meeting of the Leland Board of Education.

The board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday in the media center for a public hearing on the spending plan for 2008-09. The new fiscal year begins July 1.

Proposed revenues rely on a student foundation allowance of $8,228, up $100 from the 2007-2008 school year. Based on a blended count of 498 students, the allowance is expected to generate $4,127,424 in state per-pupil stipends. That is offset partially by a $93,617 loss from schools-of-choice funds that follow Leland students to enroll in other school districts, and “SOC” students coming from districts with lower foundation allowances.

The district is also expected to receive $87,215 in state education grants that are “passed through” to the Leelanau Children’s Center which administers an early childhood education program.

Leland also received $65,000 in special education millage levied by the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District and more than $100,000 in federal grant moneys for “at risk” and rural students.

The $4.9 million includes an estimated fund balance of $397,591 carried over from the current school year.

Expenses for the 2008-09 school year are estimated at $4,661,734, up nearly $196,000 from the budget adopted last year and down $184,000 from year-end figures.

Based on the budget plan, the district’s fund balance will sit at $243,672, or 5.23 percent of total spending.

Teacher salaries represents more than two-thirds of planned expenses in the upcoming year at $1,799,444, reflecting a 1.5 percent salary increased for certified unionized staff and 2 percent for longevity. Two percent increases are also in the works for unionized support staff as well as the technology direction, assistant custodial director; maintenance/transportation director, custodians, secretaries, food service director, and athletic director.

The cost of administration will drop by about $55,000 with the elimination of the principal’s position. Principal Terry Breen stepped down earlier this year after it became clear an administrative realignment was in the works. Longtime teacher and boys’ basketball coach Jason Stowe was appointed assistant principal in April. No formal job description has been written, though Superintendent Michael Hartigan has said that he will likely assume some of the duties that have been completed by Breen in the past, including include teacher evaluations and student discipline. Stowe will serve as a backup for discipline, student testing and professional learning communities.

The cost of administration and support staff wages is expected to total $736,422 in 2008-09, and does not include another $185,460 in federal Social Security taxes, $736,422 in health insurance premiums, $31,798 paid in lieu of insurance coverage, and $404,376 in retirement expenses.

A total of $78,000 will subsidize food ($8,000) and athletic ($70,000) budgets. It reflects the elimination of tennis as a varsity sport in the 2008-09 school year, a 5 percent increase in electrical and natural gas utilities, and a 10 percent increase in the cost of gasoline and diesel fuels.

No money is earmarked for the district’s Public Improvement Fund, which has traditionally been identified for capital expenses, such as a bus. The current fund balance is $67,000, which will be used to pay off a bus purchased with a 5-year bank loan.

The infrastructure improvement fund approved by voters in May 2007 has a current balance of $75,000, to which $143,000 in revenue will go in the upcoming school year. Anticipated expenditures from this fund in 2008-09 include installation of a new door-locking system, and upgraded communication, security and parent information system ($60,000). Also planned in 2008-09 is the sale of a portion of the $600,000 in bonds authorized last month by voters.

Hartigan and business manager Sandra Potts explained that only a portion of the bonds authorized will be sold, pending the receipt of federal impact aid from the U.S. Department of Education. The bond sale will fund purchase of a new bus at $73,000, and $125,000 in additional technology and science equipment needed to meet new state graduation requirements.

The budget hearing will be followed immediately by the board’s monthly meeting.