Back-to-back years of deficit proposed for Suring

The Suring School Board in June approved a preliminary $7 million budget with a deficit of $175,000, and for a second year in a row, will tap into its $3 million fund balance to cover the shortfall. Last year the budget was projected at a $169,000 deficit, which Suring Superintendent Robert Ray said is on target. “We don’t have all the June bills in yet, but it’s going to be that or a little bit more,” he said. “I’m a little more excited about this year.” The 2013-14 preliminary budget does not include forestry income money the school district will receive, and although Ray did not know the exact amount, he said the additional funds will put the budget “in a little better shape later on.” School officials will not know the tax impact for district residents until October, but Ray predicted little change. The tax rate for the 2012-13 school year was $7.17 per $1,000 of equalized valuation. “The economy is making a turn-around so property values might be going up a little bit, so I do not see any significant increase in the levy,” Ray said. Most of Suring’s funding — Ray estimated 92 percent — comes straight from the taxpayers, while 7 to 8 percent comes from other sources, including state aid. According to information released by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Suring will receive about 15 percent less in state aid for the 2013-14 school year than it did for 2012-13. The school district will receive $268,566 in aid, a drop of $47,775. Ray said the administration was prepared for the loss. “We planned on that. Our funding has pretty much gone down each year by 15 percent,” he said. “It affects us a little bit, because it’s money we’d like to have, but we knew that wasn’t coming.” A new start-up business, North American Finishing LLC, located at the former Evenflo building in Suring, may produce a welcome enrollment boost for the school district as families move to the area. The company projects employing 250 workers. Ray said the district has not noticed a difference in school registrations yet.