Wausaukee School To Be Debt Free In 2010 Has First Budget
Surplus Since 2001
After a near brush with dissolution last year, Wausaukee School District has many things to celebrate this year, and some time after the first week of November Administrator Jan Dooley wants to organize “some sort of community celebration.” Specifically the event will recognize the high school’s selection as one of a chosen few in the nation to be recognized as a “2009 National Blue Ribbon School.” Wausaukee also received a “Wisconsin School of Promise” award last year and again this year.
Unofficially, district residents, staff and students will also be celebrating the reversal of school finances from a chronic deficit position to one in which fund balances are being accumulated, old debts are being paid off, and a quest for educational excellence appears to be succeeding. Strategic planning is underway to steer the school in some new directions.
“We would like to thank the community for giving us chance to prove we can be a fiscally responsible board with a viable school district,” Board President Dave Kipp said during the Annual Meeting.
The tax levy of $6,508,936 is up just .93 percent from last year. The tax levy of $9.31 per $1,000 of equalized value is also up just .93 of a percent from last year’s rate of $9.23 per $1,000. For the first time in many years, equalized value of the district did not increase.
The District’s annual meeting and budget hearing that began at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, was followed by a special board meeting at 7:30 p.m. In contrast to last year, only about 20 members of the public were on hand.
At the budget hearing, Kipp noted the general fund at the start of the 2008-2009 school year had a negative balance of $129,401.36, and by the end of the year there was a positive balance of $573,638.61. Later in the meeting Dooley pointed out this was the first positive balance in three years, and the first budget surplus since 2001.
“I feel that was a major victory,” Kipp declared. He recognized former Board President Dennis “Griz” Taylor in the audience, and declared, “Mr. Taylor had a lot to do with putting that together...It’s good to have a positive balance after years of negatives, and that’s a good feeling! Thank you, Griz!”
The 2009-2010 budget projects a surplus of about $300,000, and a positive balance of $894,049 by the end of the fiscal year on July 30, 2010. Kipp said the target is to build up a $1.5 million fund balance, “to provide sustainability in the long run so we are able to withstand the financial storms that are sure to come.”
Kipp commented other area school districts are starting to feel the the financial pinch Wausaukee endured. He said they had healthy fund balances, but are now dipping into them. He added Beecher-Dunbar-Pembine District is “suffering like we are, with declining enrollment and low support from the state...Hopefully they can turn that around.”
The Wausaukee fund balance was aided by $42,000 from sale of the old school busses, which they did not budget for because outcome of the court case was not known. They also had not anticipated the $63,000 in state poverty aid, so state aid ended up being almost the same as the previous year. The drop in fuel prices, for both busses and school heating and other uses, was also a tremendous help.
According to the revenue limits worksheet, allowable district revenues for the 2009-2010 school year are up $127,429, and this is a number the local board cannot control, Kipp explained. Wausaukee again this year is expected to be one of 23 districts in the state to receive extra state aid for being a high poverty district. Federal source income is up about $85,000 in stimulus money, but this is mostly in and out money that must be spent on new features, not to offset regular expenses.
Contracts with the school’s two labor unions have not been settled, but instructional budget is up $340,000 from last year, partly because of the in and out stimulus money, partly because of a 0.06 percent increase in the Wisconsin Retirement Fund contribution.
Cost of student transportation is up slightly over last year because of startup costs in the new contract with Lamers Bus Service, Kip explained. He added that they had shown in court that in future years it will be down, partly because they do not need to put up a new building to house the busses and partly because they will not need to budget to buy the two new busses that would have been needed each year.
Kipp proudly announced the “non-program expense” category of the budget is down nearly $500,000 because in the past year they had paid off the entire $728,000 of unfunded pension liability. That payment, he added, will save the district more than $314,000 over the next 13 years. He later said they expect next year to add a “Fund 73” to the budget to take care of future post-retirement liabilities as they accumulate. “In the long term we anticipate those costs can run into a couple of million dollars,” he added.
There were a few scattered questions from the floor.
Taylor noted they expected to have $300,000 left over at the end of the 2009-2010 school year, yet at the end of the previous year there was more than a $700,000 surplus despite paying off the unfunded pension liability. He wondered why the difference,and where they were spending more.
Kipp agreed they had been more than $703,000 ahead this year, and explained, “The stars were aligned for us this year... We budgeted for high fuel costs and high natural gas...those prices came down sharply...There are many items that came to pass that aren’t likely to happen again.” That included the $42,000 school bus sale. Kipp added half of the $728,000 unfunded liability payoff had been included in the budget.
District residents can look for a reduction in their tax bills after April of 2011, Kipp said, because the district will have paid off all of the debt for building the new school 17 years ago.
This year the budget includes some money for replacing kitchen equipment, some of which is older than the school and could go down any day. Food Service Director Betty Dennis had applied for a $90,000 stimulus grant but only $10,000 was approved. Kipp said the money budgeted will not be spent unless something breaks down, but it’s there “just in case.”
Goals set by the board last year after the successful referendum were to pay off the unfunded liability, which has been achieved; build up the fund balance to about 20 percent of the anticipated expenses, and they are about one third of the way there, and set Fund 73 for long term sustainability, which has not yet been started,” Kipp said, “So we’re not there yet. We’re not even close.”
Kipp added that state equalization aids, which now equal about a million dollars a year, “will keep going down about 15 percent a year until they’re gone.” He said the district has to be on solid financial ground before that happens.
On motion by Taylor, Kipp was elected to chair the annual meeting. Board Treasurer Annette Schmidt read the treasurer’s report, which showed revenues of $7,187,000, expenses of $6,484,127, and the positive ending balance of $573,638.61 on June 30.
Kipp said anticipating that small school districts in Wisconsin are going to be faced with continuing hard times, one of the things Wausaukee has been doing is to step up collaboration efforts with sister school districts and NWTC. “Behind this,” he said, “is the belief that we can provide our students with a wealth of opportunity we otherwise in no way could afford.”
He said in one program, NWTC will provide the district with 12 high tech welding machines and an instructor, in return for use of the school facilities for evening and weekend adult education programs. There will be other programs as well.
“We can’t go with business as usual,” Dooley said. “NWTC and our business community will use our facilities for adult education and business training. With declining enrollment, we have to be able to downsize. Multi-age classrooms are part of this.”
She said some of the multi-age rooms were established last year and have worked out well, in fact they enhance learning. More will be added this year. “What we’re trying to do is get away from teaching all students the same thing based on their age, but to enhance learning by teaching to their needs.” This can be done with differentiated instruction, she said.
In regular business, the Annual Meeting gave the board temporary borrowing authority. Kipp said they had borrowed $2.1 million to keep going last year, and the year before had borrowed $2.4 million. He expects this year’s borrowing will be less, but they have not yet finished calculations, and he hoped interest rates will be lower.
Kipp recalled that last year banks were not making loans. He thanked local banks for forming a consortium so the district could borrow the money they needed. “If we hadn’t gotten a loan last year we would not have been able to meet payroll and this district would have been out of business...It’s that simple,” he declared. “Hopefully, when we get enough fund balance we won’t have to borrow. The board doesn’t enjoy paying $100,000 (interest) and getting nothing in return.”
By unanimous vote, board salaries were kept as they were last year, at $1,600 per year for the president and vice president and $1,500 for the clerk, treasurer and others on the board, plus $10 for each special meeting attended. Members will be reimbursed 30 cents per mile for travel outside the district for school purposes.
The district again will provide free textbooks and to establish a penalty for unusual and unreasonable wear.
Also by unanimous vote the board was again authorized to furnish breakfast, hot lunches and milk to any and all students, with costs to be set by the board, and the district to cover any losses from the program.
In other routine actions, the board was authorized to provide for legal services, sell school property no longer needed for school purposes, and to purchase land for school purposes.
At the special board meeting that followed the Annual Meeting, the board set 7 p.m. Sept. 29, 2010 as the time and date for the next Annual Meeting.
Board members present in addition to Schmidt and Kipp were Elmer Busick, Mary Marquis, Ken Jones and Joe Lanich. Ken Limberg was absent.
With Schmidt abstaining, they named Bank North as the official depository. Without dissent they accepted the budget as presented at the budget hearing, and adopted the tentative tax levy of $9.31 per $1,000, with final figures expected to vary a slight amount once the final equalized value figures are in. The actual final levy will be certified on Wednesday, Oct. 28.
Marquis, who chairs the Strategic Planning committee, said they have been meeting over the past three months and are working on a plan to provide Wausaukee students with quality learning opportunities and make sure each student has an opportunity to reach their potential, “whether they choose to stay here in the community or go on to other places.”
Marquis thanked Planning Committee members for the time and effort spent so far, but said they are looking for ways to involve the community in the process. Since public turnout at meetings has not been great, they will go out to the public and ask questions. “We are going to be seeking opinions,” she declared.
Marquis presented statements on Core Purpose, Core Values, Vision and Mission for the district as worked out by the Planning Committee for inclusion in the stratgic plan, and the board gave unanimous approval.
Core Purpose is: “To provide safe, stimulating learning environment that educates our students in all fundamental subjects, while fostering a desire for lifelong learning and responsibility to the community.”
Core Values are identified as: Respect, integrity, Personal Growth, Acceptance, Diversity, Passion for Excellence, Teamwork, Collaboration, Stewardship, Accountability, Innovation and Family Participation.
Vision is: “To become a center for educational excellence.”
Mission is to: “...engage students, families, staff, school administration and all community stakeholders to act as a single entity in building a sustainable educational institution to support learning through excellence in programs, processes and delivery. Individuals will develop academic and personal mastery skills to support lifelong learning and fulfill their potential within a global community.”
Marquis stressed the core values and educational excellence ideals are intended not only for students, but for outreach into the community.
Kipp encouraged staff members and the public to attend the planning meetings, “and have input into what we are trying to accomplish.
The board approved a tuition agreement with Beecher- Dunbar-Pembine School District that will allow a student who started school at Wausaukee to continue, although the Open Enrollment period had ended. Through this agreement, already approved by the BDP board, they will count the student for state aid, and at the end of the year will pay Wausaukee the open enrollment amount.
The board also approved extending the Youth Options enrollment deadline to Oct. 12 to allow some students to attend NWTC classes and get High School credits. Generally the Youth Options deadline is Oct. 1.
Also approved was an overnight field trip to Milwaukee for Fine Arts students. The trip is at no cost to the district, as students are covering their own costs. They will participate in an educational program at Milwaukee, tour the art museum, attend a play and a symphony and more.
Purchase of a new communications/telephone system was postponed to the next meeting at Dooley’s request. She said they have researched and researched, but want a system that will meet the district’s needs far into the future and she recently learned of some things that she needs to know more about before a decision is reached.
“Good things happen to people,” Dooley said before formally announcing that Wausaukee High School had been one of the eight schools in Wisconsin chosen for the prestigious national “Blue Ribbon Schools” award. She noted Wausaukee High School had been nominated for the award in December of 2008 by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction because of the dramatic improvement on test scores. Then the DPI asked to change the nomination to one based on being in the top 10 percent for achievement of schools with over half the students receiving free and reduced hot lunch - in other words, a poverty district.
Of the eight schools so honored in Wisconsin, two are in CESA-8, and both are in Marinette county. Dooley extended congratulations to Merryman Elementary School in the City of Marinette as the other local school chosen for the award. “This is a testament not only to students and staff but to parents and the entire community,” she declared.
“Hopefully, this is the beginning of a long string of awards for our district,” Kipp declared. “We are not going to rest on our laurels!”
After concluding other business the board went into closed executive session to discuss labor negotiations and to discuss and possibly act on a WEA prep time grievance.
The board met again at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5 to exchange contact proposals with the support staff union and after clarifications went into closed session for further bargaining discussions.
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