Dr. Luther Heller, superintendent of Montevideo schools, is confident the school district will be able to operate the next two school years with a balanced budget without asking voters to approve a new operating levy.
A combination of budget cuts, a projected slight increase in enrollment in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, and unrealized assumptions that the state would reduce per pupil aid by $100 and a 10 percent loss in the unallotment have left the district well positioned going into the new fiscal year, Heller explained.
The projected fund balance as of June 30 will be approximately 6.1 percent, and should remain at approximately that level for the next two years. The board has adhered to a 5 percent minimum fund balance goal for the past few years.
While noting that not everyone who had participated in a series of discussions involving himself, staff and administrators agreed with him, Heller said he was recommending not pursuing an operating levy referendum until 2011.
“I wouldn’t make this recommendation if it looked like huge cuts were coming (from the state),” he told board members.
He came to that determination after reviewing enrollment trends, considering the general state of the economy, and giving consideration to what level of a referendum might pass this fall, he said.
He noted there had been no reduction in per pupil funding this year, and that the district would eventually see the return of unallotted funds because it is mandated by state statute.
Acknowledging that the voters sent a message that they wanted to see budget cuts by defeating the levy referendum last fall, Heller pointed out the board had done that, cutting more than $767,000 from the 2010-2011 budget.
But at the same time, the district must start working on a future referendum immediately, given the trends in public school finance and declining enrollment projections after 2011-2012. Educating the public about these factors will be crucial if a future referendum is to pass, said Heller.
“Given the economy and the budget projections, we need to offer specific reasons for the additional operating referendum,” Heller wrote in his report to the board. “We need a plan as to how the funds will be used. Will we rebuild by returning to the status quo or will we think ‘outside the box’ and look for better and newer ways to operate our district.”
The goal should be to make the district “different and better and stronger,” he added.
Heller observed that it is not valid to compare what Montevideo schools are doing with what smaller districts in the area are doing simply because we are a larger school district.
“We need to offer more,” he said. “It’s an advantage of size.”
By offering more, the district can attract students because of open enrollment. And with those students comes state aid dollars.
Board member Gerry Wohlhuter pointed out that past budget cuts have had a negative impact, and that Montevideo has some catching up to do with other districts of its size. Wohlhuter, a former middle school science teacher, cited cutbacks that have been made in recent years in computer science, pre-engineering and social studies classes, as examples.
