By Derrick ForsytheRecord Staff WriterWright City R-II first-year Superintendent David Buck says the district has learned to operate on a tight budget while avoiding making cuts and sacrifices.The board adopted an $18,864,226 budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year, compared to $19.2 million from 2014-15.The district has gradually improved in terms of its reserves, which finished the 2014-15 school year at 28 percent.“As the year moves forward, our hope is to recapture some of those funds and finish closer to 25 percent in reserves,” said Buck. “That is largely dependent on the price of fuel and utilities, as well as if unknown costs arise.”The district’s fund reserve balance was at 31.6 percent at the conclusion of the 2013-14 school year.Projected revenue for the upcoming year is $18,024,637. That figure was $17,698,803 during the 2014-15 fiscal year.Buck cited several areas where the district has seen shifts in the budget.“The costs of transporting students over the past decade have risen dramatically while funding from the state has dropped dramatically,” said Buck. “The costs of special education has risen. While not last year, in the recent years we saw a significant rise in insurance costs. Technology costs (hardware and bandwidth) have risen over time as well.”The district also has several projects taking place, including the completion of the early childhood center, which is set to open in August. The district has also poured funds into the upkeep of its current buildings.“We have a five-year facilities plan and we are ahead of schedule,” said Buck. “This summer we completed the HVAC work at West Elementary, worked on the middle school parking lot and bus loop, and the early childhood center.”The district also installed a court and new bleachers in the high school gymnasium. Buck says there are plans in place to repair the eaves and underpinnings at the high school as well as update the locker rooms during the summer of 2016.He says Wright City has to operate on a more restricted budget than surrounding districts, needing more support within the district.“Locally, what is of interest is the operating tax levy,” said Buck. “The state formula looks at funding of education as a shared responsibility. They calculate a state adequacy target, which is what they expect is expended per kid. Their funding is based then on what that would entail times the average daily attendance we have the year prior, minus what they believe we should provide locally.”Wright City is significantly under the state suggested target of a $3.43 operating tax level, having had a $3.09 levy for the prior year.“We are by far the lowest in the area and not providing the local effort that our formula and legislators assume we should be,” said Buck.He added that Wright City borders five districts which all have considerably higher tax levies.R-II School District