Budget balanced, books closed

Bethel closes the books on the 2018/19 school year

Bethel’s Business Office just finished closing the books on the 2018/19 school year.

Growth in the district has been a frequent topic of discussion, especially since we grew 1,000 students in 2015 — a number that doesn’t even include all students.

The graph above, which was part of Chief Financial Officer Billy Wessell’s year-end presentation to the school board, shows growth in the district when it comes to Full Time Enrollment (FTE). FTE doesn’t count students we serve aged 0–3 in our early learning programs, nor does it count any special programs not counted for funding. When you include those students, the number is called “headcount.”

From October 2018 to October 2019 our district grew 473 students by headcount.

During his presentation, Wessell made note of a few items, including the first round of bond sales reflected in the Capital Projects Fund. That money will go directly to funding the bond projects approved by voters this February.