As the Benton
CSD prepares for a new school year with great anticipation and excitement, we
also face some challenges and decisions that will likely change the landscape
of the school district in terms of grade level patterns in elementary buildings
and schedule design at the MS/HS during the 2015-16 school year.
While we have weathered the fiscal realities of the district well for
many years, we have reached a point where some level of change and
restructuring will be required. There
are essentially three factors impacting the school district and making these
discussions and planning necessary: 1) enrollment decline over time; 2)
inadequate supplemental state aid and revenue support; and 3) general fund
expenditures outpacing the current revenue sources. As a result, it has been necessary for the
school district to utilize the Unspent Authorized Budget (UAB) portion of the
maximum budget for the district to pay for general fund expenditures for the
past two years and likely again during the 2014-15 school year. The UAB is the “rainy day” fund for the
school district. Iowa school districts
operate on a controlled budget basis with the primary components for funding
being the actual enrollment and the state per pupil funding.
Since the
2001-02 school year, the actual enrollment for the school district has dropped 272
students from 1768 to 1496 during the 2013-14 school year. This represents a 15.4% enrollment decline
over a 13 year period. Based on
enrollment projections for the year ahead, we anticipate that enrollment will
continue to decline based on the size of the incoming kindergarten class in
comparison to the senior class just graduated.
Despite the decline in enrollment, we have maintained a similar mode of
operation as it relates to the PK-12 system for many years. While the district has experienced
enrollment decline, we have also seen inadequate levels of per pupil state
funding for education in four of the past five years. While the district experiences an annual per
pupil increase of 4% from FY06 through FY10, the levels of funding during FY
11, 13, and 14 was just 2% with a zero percent level of funding in FY12. This has certainly had a significant and negative
impact on available revenues for general fund operations.
As we look
to close our financial record for FY 14 it appears that general fund
expenditures will approach $16 million. This
compares to actual expenditures in the previous year of $15,564,389. The
Maximum Authorized Budget for FY14 was $18.5 Million compared to $19.6 Million
in FY13. As a result, the Unspent
Authorized Budget will decrease from approximately $4 million at the close of
FY 13 to $2.5 million at the close of FY14.
Any reduction in the UAB also has a direct impact on reducing the
Maximum Authorized Budget for the school district. It is imperative that the school district
work at reversing the trend that has developed over the course of the past
couple of years. Due to the enrollment
projections anticipated the only way to accomplish this goal of fiscal
responsibility is through reducing general fund expenditures.
During a
Board Work Session on June 25th the administration presented the
following plan for consideration in addressing both educational excellence and
fiscal responsibility:
1.
PK-6 Elementary Centers from 4
attendance centers to 3 attendance centers with the following grade level
configurations:
Ø Atkins Center PK-3 Project Three Sections per grade level in K-3 Demographic Boundaries to include Director Districts 1,3,4,5
Ø Keystone Center PK-3 Project
Double Sections per grade level K-3
Demographic Boundaries
to include Director Districts 2,6,7
Ø Norway Center 4-6 Project
Four or Five Sections in grades 4-6
(All 4-6 grade students
in district)
2.
7-12 Common Schedule:
Ø Transition from a block schedule to a traditional schedule at the 9-12
level
Ø Common schedule provides greater flexibility in terms of staff
assignments and sectioning decisions.
The Board of
Education will continue to discuss this important topic during the Fall of
2014. A timeline for a decision will be
established and an opportunity for public input will be available and
communicated to district patrons prior to a final decision being made by the
Board. In addition, a link will be made
available on the Benton website for parents and patrons to access the data and
information to be used in decision making and action planning. This is obviously a very important decision
for the school community as we plan for the future of Benton Community.
