to the acquisition or construction of assets with estimated useful life greater than 12 months. This fund also accounts for lease/purchase debt transactions. For analytical and/or discussion purposes, the District generally refers to Funds 1 & 2 as the “Operating Funds” as these funds generally account for the expenditures necessary to operate the current fiscal year. Fund 3 and Fund 4 generally account for transactions having a life expectancy greater than 12 months. Assumptions Preparation of the budget requires making various assumptions in order to forecast revenue and expenditures. As a result, final actual results will vary from projected results. Significant assumptions include:  Enrollment and Average Daily Attendance (ADA) which fluctuate throughout the school year.  Assessed Valuation (AV) which will be determined by St Louis County in August of the fiscal year.  Property Tax Rate which will be determined in September of the fiscal year.  Rate of property tax collections which varies year to year.  Employee benefit rates which renew in January of the fiscal year.  Anticipated rate of inflation and its impact on District costs.  Anticipated rates of return on District cash reserves.  Beginning-of-year fund balances. Enrollment Accurately forecasting enrollment is important for determining staffing levels, supply purchases and facility needs. District enrollment (along with corresponding average daily attendance) peaked in 2018 and has been declining since.

Enrollment Accurately forecasting enrollment is important for determining staffing levels, supply purchases and facility needs. District enrollment (along with corresponding average daily attendance) peaked in 2018 and has been declining since. Enrollment has been declining in the St. Louis region for more than a decade due primarily to lower birth rates. District enrollment is near its 30-year low and is likely to slowly decline further. This projected decline has minimal effect upon District revenue projections. Meanwhile, enrollment at Meramec Elementary has trended upward of late. For purposes of the 2024-2025 budget, enrollment is considered stable, and unlikely to experience significant change from the 2023-2024 enrollment levels. Revenue Summary The revenue budget for 2024-2025 is forecast at $77.32M, a decrease of $0.93M over prior year 2023- 2024 revenue projections. The decrease is typical in non-reassessment years. Other revenue sources remain stable. Expenditure Summary The expenditure budget for 2024-2025 is set at $76.41M, an increase of $1.02M over prior year 2023- 2024 spending estimates. Significant expenditure components of the 2024-2025 budget are:  Staff compensation is projected to increase due to revised pay schedules as the District seeks to retain staff and respond to the effects of inflation upon compensation.  The increased cost of services and supplies due to inflation has been accounted for within the budget. Budget Data Views The various budget views later in this document provide several perspectives of budget numbers.

presented in summary form by Object.

presented in summary form by Function.

projections and actual revenue collections for 2022-2023, 2021-2022 and 2020-2021. Multi-year trends are easily discernable. Please be aware the pandemic years of 2021-2022 and 2020-2021 include data that appears skewed from normal trends.