Kalispell Public Schools is in good financial shape going into the 2013-14 school year.

The elementary district will operate with a $26,360,660 budget, up $1,981,080 from 2012-13. The high school district will have a budget of $29,649,498, up $2,070,860 from last year. This is about an 8 percent increase in both budgets.

Some of the increase is due to growth in taxable value and property tax revenue. An increase of $160,214 in tax revenue will be generated for the elementary district. The high school district will have a significantly higher increase of $3,246,544.

“There will be no mill increase to the local taxpayer,” district Clerk Gwyn Andersen said. “The mills will stay exactly the same.”

There also were increases in state aid, which prompted the district not to request a levy last spring.

The school district has $869,185 in an interlocal agreement fund that includes extra money transferred from both districts. This money may be used for anything such as adding extra teachers or deferred maintenance or technology, pending board approval.

The budget included two additional high school teachers due to a new three-year math requirement and four elementary teachers to staff classroom additions at Peterson and Edgerton schools.

Superintendent Darlene Schottle told school trustees during a board meeting Tuesday that some money has not been allocated, primarily in the elementary district, because there may be a need for additional teachers.

“Part of the reason we’re still doing that is just as late as yesterday when we did our elementary count, we found that every kindergarten classroom was within one student to full capacity, so yesterday we put in a new hire for a kindergarten teacher,” Schottle said.

The district’s first and second grades are not far behind in also being at capacity.

“Our first- and second-grade classrooms are all within two students of being full, so we are holding onto some funds in case we need to allocate for another first- or second-grade position as well,” Schottle said.

To meet state accreditation in kindergarten through second grade, there should be no more than 20 students per class.

What was not included in the budget was insurance coverage for tutors, which will be required under the Affordable Care Act as of Jan. 1.

“We were given direction we could hold off implementation until July 1,” said district superintendent Darlene Schottle.

The estimated cost to educate an elementary student for the 2013-14 year is $8,609. It’s $10,338 for a high school student.

About 90 percent of the elementary district budget is dedicated to salary and benefits with 10 percent toward other items such as textbooks and other instructional materials. The high school dedicates about 84 percent of its budget toward salary and benefits and 16 percent to other items such as instructional materials.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.