Advertisement Making bad news worse, the state’s Joint Finance Committee late last week increased that figure to a 3.1 percent reduction in its approved spending bill.
That reduction could mean a cut in state aid of $400,000 to $700,000 to the Holmen School District, said Superintendent Dale Carlson.
Given that information, Carlson offered a list of three budget-trimming options for the Holmen School Board to consider at a meeting last week.
Among those items were a 10 percent reduction in all building and department budget allocations and a 50 percent reduction in overtime and “extra time” compensation. Based on 2008-09 budget amounts, those two proposals would save the district $130,000.
The third recommendation was to delay the purchase of two school buses over the next two years which would save $80,000 per year.
Total estimated savings for next year’s budget would be $210,000, about half of the best-case scenario for state-aid shortfall.
In a May 27 letter to school board members, Carlson indicated that those cuts alone will not make-up for the state aid reduction and that additional measures would have to be identified.
“As you can see, this is a list that is most likely just beginning,” Carlson said. “We have to talk about and consider what we feel we can do on a reduction side and look at ways to increase revenue.”
Reductions of each of those items, Carlson wrote, would also have consequences.
Given several years of lean budgetary times, finding places to trim might prove difficult. “There hasn’t been a lot of fat to what we’ve already been working within in the recent past,” Carlson said.
In 2002, the district put in place a six-step process for identifying budgetary reductions in light of decreased state aid at that time. Due to the timing of the state budget, Carlson said, the district doesn’t have the luxury of such a lengthy process.
He called on supervisors and administrators to start looking at places to cut.
“We’re probably going to have to start making some tough decisions,” said board member Dardy Berge.
Probably the first of those tough decisions will be whether to use more cash on hand — the district’s fund balance — to patch budget holes.
“I don’t want to be one of those districts that cuts maintenance,” said board President Cheryl Hancock. “It seems like everything is coming together so fast. Is it possible to use the fund balance to cover those one-time maintenance things?”
The district is operating with a $260,000 to $270,000 planned budget deficit. Less budget paring would force the district to increase that deficit and spend more savings.
Hancock said officials will need to work to provide the board with more information on the ramifications of raiding the fund balance.
“I’m willing to look ... but the fund balance has actually saved us money,” Berge said. One benefit of a healthy fund balance is the district gets a better bond rating, so it costs less to borrow money.
Board member Tim Medinger suggested that it might be time to talk with parents paying for one-time student costs.
Carlson committed himself to working with CESA No. 4, other school districts and the state Department of Public Instruction to learn creative ways to use federal stimulus dollars to bridge some gaps, but he warned that stimulus funds are not as flexible as some would believe.
Carlson also quelled rumors the district has enacted a hiring freeze.
“Anytime a position becomes vacant we are looking at it to see (whether it needs to be filled),” he said. “We are having to take a close look.”
The bid letting for a pair of school buses was delayed at last week’s board meeting because of budget fears, and likely on Carlson’s budget trimming suggestion.
District transportation supervisor Roger Saxton’s original proposal was to borrow money from the reserve funding balance for one year, which would have resulted in a savings of $6,000.
In light of the potential budget shortfalls, Saxton asked for more time in making a recommendation on replacing buses.
Other business
In other action, the board:
james wrote on Jun 5, 2009 7:46 AM:
So Holmen like all school districts in the state have gotten some pretty fat checks from Uncle Sam. Of course they wont mention that when they complain about their state cuts. "