Toledo Public Schools will cut more than $4 million in discretionary spending for the fiscal year that begins today, reductions that officials said would not hurt students or trigger layoffs.

The trim represents a 25 percent decrease from last year’s discretionary spending levels and will mean less money for office supplies, printing, postage, out-of-district employee travel, professional development, business division expenses, and other areas including athletics, though TPS will not drop sports teams, said Treasurer Ryan Stechschulte.

Even with the cuts, TPS projects a nearly $24 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2017. Mr. Stechschulte said that number is based on a “conservative forecast” and he expects the final shortfall to be less, though the district does expect to dip into its $53 million cash balance.

Mr. Stechschulte pointed to rising expenses associated with health care, cost-of-living items such as utilities, and salaries, among other areas. The board of education recently agreed to one-year contracts with three employee unions that gave raises totaling 5 percent.

Salary and benefits are budgeted to increase from $224.6 million last year to $247.3 million this year. That makes up about 65 percent of the district’s $380.58 million general fund operating budget for this year.

The district estimated revenues at $356.6 million for the year, of which about $102 million will come from local sources, including real-estate taxes; $252.68 will come from the state, and about $1.85 million comes from federal sources.

The district is making cuts this year because it’s easier to start trimming now instead of allowing the problem to continue to grow, Mr. Stechschulte said.

“We are starting to address the shortfall that we foresee hitting a lot in the future years,” he said. “The goal is to have a balanced budget, but we did not have that this year.”

The district could not chop $24 million without affecting students, he said. The discretionary spending cuts will not eliminate programs, he said.

The reduction in the athletics budget, for example, will be achieved by cutting back on expenses such as supplies, software, and coaches’ clinics, Mr. Stechschulte said.

Board members expressed concern about the extent and effect of the cuts during Tuesday’s meeting, at which they unanimously approved the budget. District officials were unable at the meeting to detail where cuts would occur and provided some misinformation about the reductions.

Mr. Stechschulte said the reason he didn’t provide more information during the meeting is because he didn’t memorize those specifics. He said he’s since sent board members an update breaking down the cuts.

The day after approving the budget, board members gave the treasurer high praise and a vote of confidence following his annual evaluation.

Board President Bob Vasquez, who also chairs the finance committee, said elected officials need to understand what the reductions will mean to different departments.

“The board has to be involved in those particular cuts,” he said on Thursday.

Mr. Vasquez wants a budget monitoring group to regularly review expenses and revenues and study enrollment and voucher trends. That will help the district make “preparations to live within our means.”

“We need to know those things on a regular basis,” he said. “So that [when] we get to the point where we really do have to make decisions, that we know what we are talking about.”

The budget is based on a flat student enrollment of about 21,189, the same as last school year.

Voters in 2014 approved the first new-money levy for TPS since 2001. The five-year tax generates $9.3 million annually for the general fund and $3.2 million for the permanent improvement fund.

Mr. Stechschulte said part of the levy campaign was a promise to make salaries more competitive with other school systems.

In addition to its cash balance, the district has a $6.6 million reserve fund, which requires board approval to use.

Contact Vanessa McCray at: vmccray@theblade.com or 419-724-6065, or on Twitter @vanmccray.

First Published July 1, 2016, 4:00 a.m.