Wilmington gives first OK to budget

The Wilmington school board has approved a preliminary budget of $17.2 million. The board acted at its workshop session last week to adopt the $17,214,732 spending plan for 2007-08. Final adoption will be in June. Superintendent Dr. C. Joyce Nicksick said the district had considered, but did not pass, a resolution holding tax increases to a formula set by the state. "But as the budget is presented, the millage is the same as the current year," she said. Last year, the board had set property taxes at 12.3 mills, the same rate as the year before. The 2007-08 preliminary budget is $611,818 higher than the current year's spending plan. With no tax incease, it is balanced, Nicksick said, using money from the district's general fund balance. Increases are for utilities and transportation, she said. "We've had budget meetings in January and will continue to have them through the spring to fine-tune the budget." At the workshop session, the board also agreed to reduce its fund balance by $1.6 million, setting aside $1.2 million for capital projects, $200,000 for retirement rate increases and $200,000 for future health care cost increases.