The Gillett School District will dig into its fund balance this year to make ends meet, and if revenue streams continue to decline, a referendum may be on the horizon.
At the Sept. 16 annual meeting, about 30 people heard about the financial shortfalls in the district, which District Superintendent Todd Carlson accredited to revenue limits set in the state budget signed by Gov. Scott Walker in July.
The district is on track to receive $3.975 million in state revenue for the 2015-16 school year, down from $4.107 million in 2014 and $4.187 million in 2013, according to figures presented at the annual meeting.
“Money that went to state aid now goes to private school vouchers,” Carlson said during his PowerPoint presentation. “That lessened the money that public schools had to work with.”
Carlson said the expansion of the private school voucher system puts pressure on taxpayers.
“I don’t know how taxpayers can support two school systems,” he said.
Federal aid also dropped in the same time span, from $286,367 in 2013 to $231,824 in 2014 and $180,039 in 2015.
The budget showed total revenues of $6,630,732 and total expenditures of $6,958,032, leaving a deficit of $327,300.
To make up the difference, the board proposed using its fund balance account, which in June totaled $2.615 million.
“The fund balance is any money (the district) can earn during the year, like from taxes,” Carlson explained. But that money isn’t available right at the start of the school year because tax money is transferred to schools in December and June, meaning the account is nearly depleted twice a year. In the meantime, the district needs to pay wages and other expenses, so it’s a balancing act, Carlson said.
Carlson expressed concern about the decrease in state funding, saying, “If we continue down this path and things don’t change on the state level we’ll have to start looking for other options.”
One of those options would be asking taxpayers for more money via a referendum vote.
“That’s going to be a hard sell,” said former School Board president Mark Winkler.
He said student-to-staff ratios in the Gillett School District are some of the lowest in the area.
“We’re really going to have to look from within to tighten the belt up,” Winkler said. He recommended the district work more closely with area technical schools to develop career readiness skills in students.
He also expressed his appreciation of the School Board’s dedication to the district.
Carlson commended staff members for the work they do.
“The bottom line is, Gillett is a very good school district. It has a wonderful staff doing an excellent job educating student,” he said.
Residents at the annual meeting adopted the tax levy with no discussion or opposition. The levy will decrease this year, from $2.912 million to $2.744 million, a change of 5.76 percent. Taxpayers owning property valued at $100,000 will pay $982 in taxes, a decrease from last year of $67 or about 6.8 percent.
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