$916K in Extraordinary Aid Coming to Livingston Schools

The Livingston School District will add more than $900,000 in unexpected revenue to its budget this fall.

The Board of Education was informed Monday that the district will get $916,958 in extraordinary state aid for the 2013-14 school year, said Business Administrator Steven Robinson. 

“This is great,” said Robinson, “because Livingston and state aid don’t always go together. Anytime we get state aid we are thankful for it.”

The aid is 33 percent lower than the $1.3 million the board originally applied for. Robinson said every district in the state that applied for extraordinary aid was awarded 67 percent of its original request. 

“We didn’t get ripped off,” said Robinson. “[The state] funded everybody at the same amount.”    

The extra funds can only be used for special education, such as paying out-of-district tuition and occupational therapy costs.

Robinson added this money will go toward helping the district “keep a healthy surplus … and offset special education costs.” 

Because state aid is mercurial from year to year, Robinson said the board has become accustomed to estimating the district will receive nothing from the state in its budget. 

“We don’t budget for extraordinary aid,” said Robinson. “So this is … additional money we will now have.