Months of work culminated Monday night when the Oak Harbor School Board approved the district’s $46.1 million budget.

The new budget is 4.9 percent larger than last year’s budget. The bulk of the increase will help pay for a 3.3 percent cost of living increase mandated by the Legislature.

While the school district approved the budget, some in the community think the school district needs to be more open about the budget.

Oak Harbor resident Scott Hornung said he has been dissatisfied with the lack of transparency with the process.

“Perhaps you’re not budgeting your resources wisely,” Hornung said.

Peter Szalai, president of the Oak Harbor Education Association, said the school district has to improve communications. He said that could be accomplished by publishing simple spreadsheets or even creating a budget oversight committee.

Hornung also had some issues with how the budget has changed over the years. He noted, since 1992, there are fewer full-time students attending Oak Harbor schools yet there are more employees.

Superintendent Rick Schulte cited several sources that helped fund the extra staff. Forty-five employees were hired when the school district instituted a hot lunch program several years ago. An additional 20 employees are funded through I-728, which goes toward class-size reduction, and an additional 36 employees are paid through the maintenance and operations levy voters re-approved last year.

The new budget doesn’t show any staff reductions to kick off the school year, said Vicki Williams, school district business director.

There are several unknowns with the school’s budget. The money the school district receives from the state is based on enrollment counts. And school officials have to make their best guess until the official count that takes place in October. Currently the school district is estimating 5,500 students, and 66 students attending Running Start will be enrolled in Oak Harbor schools for the coming school year. That is up from 5,477 last year.

In addition to the enrollment estimate, the school district is also sorting out issues with Impact Aid. That is federal funding available to school districts affected by military bases.

The school district will receive $272,000 from the Department of Defense Impact Aid office. However, Williams said she isn’t sure the school district is entitled to that payment. So the school district will hold onto the money until officials receive reasonable assurances that it can keep the money.

The school district is also expecting to receive $650,000 from the Department of Education Impact Aid office sometime this fall. In all, the school district is expecting to receive $5.4 million in Impact Aid for the coming school year.