The Sedona-Oak Creek School District Governing Board was presented Tuesday, June 29, with the district’s proposed budget for the 2010-2011 school year of just over $9 million.

The board voted 4-0 to advertise the proposal and plans to meet Thursday, July 15, to discuss approval. The deadline for approval is July 15. School Board President Bobbie Surber was unable to attend the meeting.

SOCSD Superintendent Mike Aylstock said the proposed budget must be advertised for 10 days before the board can take action.

As he looked over the budget, Aylstock informed the board the budget was not a good one, and mentioned the struggling economy is also affecting school districts.

The budget amount for maintenance and operations likely will increase to $8.2 million from $7.86 million last year.

SOCSD saw its enrollment decrease by 60 students this past year, and Aylstock said funds from Proposition 301 will not be helping as much.

The district used to receive $400 for every child enrolled due to the proposition voters approved, but this figure decreased to $120 a student.

Unrestricted capital outlay funds for instruction, according to the proposed budget, will decrease to almost $217,000 for the upcoming year from $578,000 in 2010, and the total capital outlay funds will decrease 29.5 percent, resulting in a loss of close to $200,000.

Allocations for soft capital, which includes instruction and support services, decreased to $187,000 from $372,000, which is a 49.7 percent decrease.

Most of the cuts, he said, are directly tied to sales tax revenue, and he told the board the cuts came to $701,000.

Compounding the problem was the $200,000 in federal stimulus funds the district received last year, since those funds are no longer available.

“It gives you less and less flexibility on how you [create] your budget,” Aylstock said.

The school board also received an update during the meeting on construction projects going on in the district.

Project Manager Dave Young said the performing arts center at Sedona Red Rock High School is on schedule to be completed in September. The gymnasium and classrooms attached to the center are nearly complete and are expected to open in July.

The first solar panels at the high school were installed  June 25, Young told the board.

Board member Tommy Stovall wanted to know why the solar panels could be seen from the roadway when they were informed at the beginning of the project this was not going to be the case.

“I was under the impression we would not be able to see them,” Stovall said.

Young said this visibility is the way it is going to be.

Aylstock said the district has received mixed comments about being able to see the panels. Hiding the panels could prove to be a disservice to what the school district is doing.

There are things that can be done so the panels would not be visible from the roadway — if this is the board’s desire, Aylstock said.