Report recommends more cuts for Benton schools

By Meranda Watling, Journal & Courier

mwatling@jconline.com

Benton schools spend a larger portion of the district's budget on staff than the average Indiana school system does, according to a budget analysis presented Monday.

Tom Grabill, a consultant with Educational Services Co., which handled the report funded by a state grant, told the Benton school board that the district can't afford its current staff at projected funding levels. The report concluded the district's rainy day fund is subsidizing about $1 million of the district's roughly $13 million general fund this year.

About 93 percent of the general fund is spent on salaries and benefits. The state average is about 88 percent.