MERRILLVILLE | Merrillville school officials are projecting a 30 percent increase in utilities and a 15 percent increase in medical and health insurance in 2009, and have raised the budget accordingly.

Hilda Damianick, the assistant to the superintendent for business, said the total advertised budget is $85.7 million with a general fund of $46.9 million. Administrators said the budget is inflated to capture as many dollars as possible.

Even though Merrillville schools are working on the 2009 budget, they don't have a certified budget for 2008. They also have some extra time to get the 2009 budget ready. That's because the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance gave all taxing units, including municipalities and libraries, extra time until Dec. 1. Merrillville schools are set to adopt the budget Sept. 16.

Damianick said the cost of utilities has gone up and she expects medical insurance will increase,although officials won't know about that until closer to November. She said the general fund budget for utilities was $800,000 this year compared to the nearly $1.1 million they expect to pay next year.

She said there aren't many surprises in the budget.

The bus replacement cycle went from 10 years to 12 years. That means that schools will be expected to keep buses 12 years before replacing them. Damianick said the district got eight new 2009 buses this year. The oldest bus in the system is a 1997 model.

Superintendent Tony Lux and Merrillville School Board President Mark Lucas said Merrillville, like other districts, is playing a guessing game.

"We don't have a certified budget for '08. The DLGF (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance) recommended we build the budget based on 65 percent of the district's assessed value in 2007. We don't have an assessed value for 2008," Lux said.

Lucas said the General Assembly is coming into a budget year, and he'll reserve judgement until he sees what happens in the legislature.