The Chilton County Board of Education approved Tuesday a proposed budget of $80 million for the 2014-2015 fiscal year to be submitted to the state for approval.

The board’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30, 2015, is nearly $66 million plus a $14.3 million fund balance reserve, according to Chief Financial Officer Steve Yeargan.

As of Sept. 30 this year, Yeargan projected the board to have a $7.6 million balance in the general fund.

Yeargan said he projected the board to operate in credit negative of nearly $1.4 million starting Oct. 1, meaning expenses would be more than revenues by about $1.4 million during the new fiscal year.

Yeargan projected the board to end Fiscal Year 2014-2015 with about $6.2 million in the general fund, $4 million of which would be the amount in reserve as required by the state.

Subtracting the $4 million reserve from the estimated $6.2 million balance in the general fund would create a balance of $2.2 million at the end of the new fiscal year.

The projected balance of $2.2 million at the end of the 2015 fiscal year is higher than the projected balance of $600,000 for the 2014 fiscal year as reported during the board’s budget hearings last year.

Yeargan attributed the increase in the projected balance to the board spending less money on maintenance this year than was initially budgeted.

Otherwise, the proposed budget for 2014-2015 is relatively similar to the previous year’s budget, which was about $66 million plus a $12.8 million fund balance reserve.

At the board’s first of two public hearings on the budget Sept. 4, Yeargan expressed optimism about the new budget and said he would have a better idea of how close the board is to the projected budget when the 2013-2014 fiscal year ends Sept. 30.

The breakdown of budgeted expenses in the general fund for the current fiscal year is as follows: salaries and fringes, 82.8 percent; building maintenance and supplies, 4.8 percent; CNP (Child Nutrition Program) transfer funds, 3.2 percent; utilities, 3.1 percent; regular transportation expenses, 1.6 percent; capital match, 0.8 percent; non-capital equipment, 0.7 percent; contracted services, 0.6 percent; miscellaneous materials and supplies, 0.6 percent; textbooks, 0.5 percent; general liability insurance, 0.5 percent; fee funds for teachers, 0.3 percent; software maintenance agreements, 0.2 percent; capital equipment, 0.2 percent; general office supplies, 0.1 percent; and dues and fees, 0.1 percent, for a total of about $50 million.

The estimated beginning general fund balances for Fiscal Year 2014 are: sales tax reserve, 95.5 percent; transportation reimbursement, 2 percent; local ad valorem, 1 percent; Helping Schools tag tax, 0.2 percent; old textbook fund, 0 percent; local E-rate reserve, 0.5 percent; Section 16 land tax, 0.4 percent; and Section 16 land tax, 0.3 percent, for a total of about $7.6 million.

The estimated ending fund balances per general funds for Fiscal Year 2015 are: sales tax reserve, 94 percent; transportation reimbursement, 3.1 percent; local ad valorem, 1.2 percent; Helping Schools tag tax, 0.2 percent; old textbook fund, 0 percent; local E-rate reserve, 0.6 percent; Section 16 land tax, 0.5 percent; Section 16 land tax, 0.4 percent, for a total of about $6.2 million.

The Fiscal Year 2014 projected beginning Capital Outlay fund balances are: Public School Funds (PSF), 41.3 percent; PSF interest earned, 1.2 percent; driver education balance, 0 percent; Public School and College (PSCA), 44.3 percent; and fleet renewal, 13.3 percent, for a total of about $4.2 million.

The estimated ending Fiscal Year 2015 Capital Outlay balances are: Public School Funds (PSF), 39.6 percent; PSF interest earned, 1.1 percent; driver education balance, 0 percent; Public School and College (PSCA), 42.5 percent; PSF FY 2015 20 percent, 16.8 percent, for a total of about $4.4 million.