Cliff Buchan
News EditorItís a full year away but officials in ISD 831 have taken the first steps in formulating a plan that will bring new revenues to the district and head off yet another round of budget cuts.
The plan now being crafted will carry another request to voters for excess levy operating dollars. And there is movement by the school administration to seek cooperation from employee groups in holding down expenses for the fiscal years starting 2005-2006.
The board discussed both topics at a special meeting last Thursday, although the latter topic went behind closed doors at a strategy session to discuss contract parameters for licensed and classified employees.
Also last week, the board and administration outlined plans for this winter that will reduce the general fund by another $2 million. The cuts for the 2005-2006 school year will follow a $2 million cut enacted for the current school term.
While the district backed off this summer from asking the public for an excess levy this fall, it is clear that vote will go forward in November of 2005.
With the districtís basic per pupil funding remaining unchanged for the past three years, school officials said there is little choice but to ask for more local property tax dollars or prepare for an even greater catastrophic budget slashing effort in two years.
The early plan
Plans could change in the months leading up to the 2005 vote, but the board consensus last Thursday is to seek voter approval for the maximum amount of local tax support. With two full years remaining on the current excess levy now in place, the board also is intent on rolling that levy into the new voter authorized amount.
The districtís current levy collects $650 per pupil unit. Under state guidelines now in place, that levy can increase by $260 per pupil for a maximum local excess levy cap of $910.
With the state facing a new budget deficit in the area of $1 billion, Superintendent Lynn Steenblock described the possibility of public schools getting more basic state aid as ìbleak.î No new revenue for schools should be expected, he said.
ìWe think that trend is going to continue,î he told the board.
The board will decide later on the actual ballot language and the term of the levy. Five years was one term that drew support from board members.
While the vote in November of 2005 could decide the renewal of the existing excess levy and the additional funding, a defeat at the polls wouldnít mean an end to the $650 in per pupil funding that was approved in 2001 by the electorate.
The existing levy remains in place through the 2006-2007 school year. A defeat in 2005 would give district officials one last chance to renew it in 2006.
Employees react
Although there was no board table discussion last week during public session, officials of the Forest Lake Education Association said in interviews this week they were opting out of any immediate discussion that would address any kind of employee economic concession.
The districtís administration has quietly met with employee groups this fall to begin the negotiations process.
Jim Lindstrom, chief negotiator for the teachers, said those early meetings are exploring ways the district can save money and avoid more budget cuts. Lindstrom conceded that without new revenue sources, the district can go only so far in trimming operational and maintenance programs to save money.
ìIf the employees donít pick it up where else do you get it?î Lindstrom asked. Once activity buses are dropped, students are forced to walk to school or bus stops and the heat in buildings is turned down, the only solution is to roll back wages or cut personnel, he said.
ìItís going to have to come from personnel,î Lindstrom said.
Lindstrom said there has been no direct request for a step freeze for teachers but such a bargaining move would save the district close to $600,000 a year in cost. The teacher contract includes annual step and lane changes that compensate staff for years of service.
Terry DuRei, FLEA president, said the association has asked to ìopt outî of the planning process at this time. ìWhy do it right now?î he said.
After carrying the message to teachers at the building level, DuRei said it was clear the rank and file desired time to see what may happen politically and with the legislature. ìThatís what we heard from 90 percent of the people,î DuRei said.
Lindstrom agreed that too many variables existed. ìWhat may or may not happen tomorrow (election day) may have an impact,î Lindstrom said on Monday.
FLEA officials said they would commence good faith bargaining this winter for the new two-year contract that begins on July 1, 2005.
Lindstrom said there is reality that teachers and the public must come to accept.
ìDo teachers believe there will be cuts?î he asked.
In light of back-to-back cuts totalling $2 million a year, Lindstrom said there is little doubt that another 20 to 25 teachers will lose jobs this winter and many more could go a year from now.
The public, he said, must also be aware of the reality of what budget cuts are doing to the Forest Lake system. If the trend is not reversed, the public will ìreap what they sowî in terms of a public school system that will be weak, he said.
More on budget
After two years of declining property taxes for school support in ISD 831, district officials said the level of property taxes paid for schools here has fallen from 50 percent of the tax bill to about 33 percent.
That became evident in the 2002-2003 school year when the state bought down the local property tax impact by taking over that share of the education funding. Beyond excess levies, the state is responsible for all other forms of state aid.
While the district assumed the property tax obligation, Steenblock said last week the state has neglected to increase its basic funding for public schools. He said the $1 billion deficit, and past deficits already addressed by the state, are due in part to the buy down because the state never found a revenue source to pay for the school funding it assumed from the local districts.
Larry Martini, director of business affairs, said last week the lack of any new state aid, coupled with inflationary cost increases needed to run the district, have been major factors in the district cutting over $5 million in the past three rounds of budget adjustments.
For the owner of a home with market value of $250,000, the tax impact from passage of the $910 levy would be $154 a year or just under $13 a month, Martini reported.
Passage of the expanded property tax levy would generate some $2.34 million a year to support the general fund based on the current year pupil unit count, officials said.
The board will utilize the next several months to move forward with its current budget-cutting process and fully design its campaign for the fall referendum in 2005.
The latter effort will be designed to attract a citizen committee to work for passage. With time to organize, the board was optimistic it would be able to get out its message and communicate with individuals, business groups, school groups and churches throughout the area.
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