The Dowagiac School District’s financial future for the upcoming year is coming into clearer focus.

Financial Director Stacy Ritchie presented an overview of the changes made to the budget for the 2014-15 school year to the Dowagiac Union Schools Board of Education Monday night.

Despite in an increase in terms of revenues over original projections, new figures for expenses have increased the originally anticipated deficit, from $66,000 to more than $338,000 compared to the original budget.

“When the budget is put together in the spring, there are a lot of unknowns,” Ritchie said. “In the fall, we start taking those unknowns, which become knowns, adding them to a revised budget.”

Among the major changes to the new budget includes the recent purchase of a used maintenance van, in the amount of $14,500. It also includes a number of projected vehicle purchases, including a special education van, slated for $25,000, and replacement bus, costing around $103,000.

Some increased revenue projections are also included in the revision, including $60,000 worth of estimated funds due to higher than expected enrollment figures. Funding from the Pokagon Band’s shared casino revenue is also up by over $56,000 compared to original estimates.

This is an early revision of this year’s budget, providing a current snapshot of the district’s current finances, Ritchie said. Other updates will be made throughout the remainder of the year to account for yet unknown factors.

“The things we don’t know yet but will soon include our federal grant carryover amounts, our food services payments to the general fund, the possibility of a one-time payment to offset some our retirement costs, and of course things like heating costs, snow plowing and things like that,” she said.