Whitnall School Board to Consider Options for Excess Revenue

The Whitnall School Board will discuss options to address variance of nearly $2.3 million between revenue and costs for its 2011-2012 budget prior to its annual meeting Sept. 26.

Based on an unaudited report of numbers affecting the budget through June, the would gather $25.1 million in revenue while incurring expenses of $22.8 million in the coming school year.

The report listed unaudited revenue for the previous school year of 2010-2011 as ending at $26.6 million compared to revenue of $23.9 million, a surplus of $2.7 million.

“I don’t know if you classify it as over-levying or under-spending,” said interim business manager Douglas Johnson at Monday's school board meeting.

Money budgeted to pay for salaries and benefits that was not used primarily added to the surplus, Johnson said. The positions of curriculum director and technology director were budgeted but vacant, which also added to the projection, Johnson said.

Changes in state regulations and preferred health care networks also reduced the amount the district would pay for benefits, Johnson said. Johnson said the current budget is being built with “real people” – connecting the budget for salaries directly to positions currently filled.

Board members expressed desire to use the difference in positive ways, possibly paying off bonds ahead of schedule without financial penalties or decreasing tax levies.

“We need to do something to address that,” said board member Bernard Shaw. “We have a lot of work to do in a very short period of time.”

One possibility would be using the fund balance to keep tax levies flat over several years as opposed to under-levying one year and spiking the levy back up to regular levels the next, Douglas said.

“If I was asked to under-levy one year and then add that back on in a subsequent year, I would be very hard-pressed to actually do that,” said board president Bill Osterndorf.

The Finance Committee will confer with the district’s financial advisors and present options at its meeting Sept. 7. Based on recommendations from that meeting, a budget draft will be finalized by Sept. 8 in order to meet open record laws publication for notice in advance of the board’s Sept. 26 budget hearing and annual meeting.

The district has the option to adjust the budget and tax levy after it is approved at the meeting because the state Department of Public Instruction will not certify the district’s revenue limit and general aid until October.

“It really amounts to what is the best usage of the funds and also to make sure that we don’t continue down this path of overtaxing our taxpayers by continuing to have such large variances,” Shaw said. “The money for 2010-2011 is spent. It’s there. But we can do something about the 2011-12 budget now, and we should.”