The Shawano School District received a very vocal majority from the 100-plus residents in attendance supporting the 2013-14 school budget of $26.7 million during Monday’s annual meeting.
However, some residents questioned why they were approving the budget now instead of waiting until key final numbers are available in October.
The budget is preliminary, and the final budget will not be approved by the School Board until the end of October. The district won't know its official enrollment, which is a factor in determining state aid, until the official annual count is taken on the third Friday of September, and the state won't release equalized valuation figures for the district until Oct. 15.
The district also has not finalized pay raises for administrators; teachers and support staff are slated to get a 2.3 percent pay hike.
Despite the budget uncertainties, district officials promised residents that the tax rate would remain at $9.95 per $1,000 of equalized valuation. The total expected tax levy for the 2013-14 school year is $12,928,232, a 1.5 percent increase from the 2012-13 school year.
Some citizens questioned how the tax rate could be guaranteed to remain flat if the district does not have all the budget information.
“You keep saying we have preliminary numbers. Why do we have this meeting now? Why don’t we have the meeting in October, when you’re done negotiating salaries and we know where we’re at?” said Wayne Schnell, of Shawano.
Business Manager Gail Moesch said that the district could legally have its annual meeting anytime from July 1 to Oct. 31, but has traditionally held it on the third Monday in August.
Superintendent Todd Carlson pointed out the state recommends school districts hold their annual meetings the fourth Monday in July.
Bonnie Olson told the board voting on a budget without firm, final numbers made no sense.
“The public still would have a better chance of grasping those numbers if we have actual numbers,” Olson said.
Moesch said holding the annual meeting in late October would be difficult. A legal notice must appear in the newspaper at least 10 days prior to the meeting, and with equalized property values coming out Oct. 15, that would allow the district only a few days to make changes, depending on how much the values have changed.
That didn’t stop School Board member Derek Johnson from making a motion to schedule the next annual meeting for Oct. 20, 2014. After a voice vote was inconclusive, meeting chairman Michael Sleeper called for a show of hands, with the proposal losing 78-43.
A motion to hold the meeting on the third Thursday in August passed by a voice vote.
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