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 but they won't know about that until closer to November. She said the general fund budget for utilities was $800,000 this year compared to nearly $1.1 million they expect to pay next year.