During a five-hour meeting of the Cook County School Board on December 17, 2015, Board Member Terry Collins spoke of correcting the budget problems caused by three consecutive years of deficit spending, adding that there are “time bombs” in the budget as enrollment declines. He believes the situation should be corrected so that it is not just getting pushed down the road for another board to fix.
Collins said he feels it should be dealt with now so that it’s not something a new superintendent will have to immediately address. “If we had done this five years ago, we would have money for gym floors and to build a bus garage,” he said, adding, “This fund balance is not just because an accountant told us we should do it. It’s because we need to have the money there.”
Community member Becky Bartol said although she realizes some reductions are necessary, she believes part of the reduction can be considered discretionary because of the amount the board wants to see the fund balance increased to. Her position is that if too much in reductions is taken on now, that will also be detrimental to a new superintendent.
Sue Hennessy of the Arrowhead Center for the Arts said she disagreed that the savings to the district by closing the ACA would be $75,000. She stated that she has many ideas toward making the center financially viable including approaching the Iron Range Resources Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) and the state arts board which originally contributed to creating the facility 20 years ago.
Music teacher Kerri Bilben and arts teacher Mary MacDonald both spoke of the need for keeping their respective programs consistent throughout the lower grades. Both platforms rely on the training received by younger students in order to produce quality high school programs.
Several board members said that all of what the district now offers is of value to students and they do not want to lose any of it. However funding must be available to finance such things. The board agreed to schedule further fundraising discussions with the representatives of several local organizations who were present at the meeting.
Crunching the numbers
The 2015 budget most recently revised in November shows a deficit of $186,000 which will be part of the reduction target. The unassigned fund balance was $467,512 on June 30, 2015 and is currently projected to be $280,630 on June 30, 2016. The next projection will be presented in February and again in May. Currently the fund balance is 8 percent of the budget which is at the low end of the recommended range.
An extended discussion of setting a budget reduction target ensued. Superintendent Beth Schwarz said that she looked at possible reduction targets of $350,000 to $800,000. She reminded the board that the failed referendum specifically noted that the district would need to make reductions of a minimum of $400,000 if the levy referendum failed to pass. She also relayed that district financial advisor Steve Pumper counseled that making cuts now will be more beneficial than making the same cuts later.
Board Chair Jeanne Anderson stated that she sees the opportunity to create a clear plan whether the district has another operating levy or not. “We have to lay out that long range plan and stick to it…I want everyone to look at this every meeting and follow it every meeting,” she said.
Board Member Chris Goettl suggested making just the easier cuts now and not being too aggressive with initial reductions. “We don’t know what tomorrow or next year will bring.” He has heard from parents that many students will leave the district if the cuts go too deep.
Board Member Deb White suggested a lesser percentage the first year and waiting to see if the community can step forward and help to correct the situation before year two and three.
Collins stated that as hard as it will be to determine where initial cuts in the budget will be, future reductions will be increasingly difficult. He suggested spreading out the more challenging cuts over a period of years. “There is a good reason why our financial advisor, who we pay good money to, says 17 percent,” he said, adding that the district should achieve the 17 percent recommendation.
Collins added that the school has six different roof sections that need to be maintained and it would be reasonable to assume two of the sections will be vulnerable in the next four years at a cost of $200,000 each. The district has also learned that a new bus garage will likely cost near $350,000. The total of these items alone is $750,000. Quipping that he is a “dead head socialist,” Collins noted the irony of being the fiscal conservative in the conversation.
Board Member Sissy Lunde put forth that she does see cuts of $600,000 to $700,000 as attainable. “We can say less than that and go in the hole, but that’s not smart either…I don’t want to do this, but I have to,” she said.
With that Lunde moved for a reduction target of $600,000. She was joined by Collins in support of the figure while the remaining board voted against the amount.
White then moved for the reduction target of $500,000. The motion passed three votes to two with Lunde and Collins voting against it.
Upon the agreement of the reduction target, the board then unanimously approved the updates to the policy requiring the establishment of a general fund reserve balance. Per the policy, the goal of the school board is to build the reserve to a total of 17 percent of the budget by June 30, 2018 or approximately $1.2 million dollars. Interim goals of $12 percent or approximately $800,000 by June 30, 2016 and 15 percent or approximately one million dollars by June 30, 2017 are also included as part of the policy.
Future levy referendum considered
Further discussion of attempting to pass another operating levy referendum took place. The district has not yet received a final billing from Cook County for the cost of November’s failed referendum attempt. The estimated cost remains at $13,000. If the school were to hold an election in 2016 on any day other than the general presidential election on November 8, 2016 it must be held via mail in ballots and the district would again be responsible for the total cost of the balloting. If done in conjunction with the general election, the cost would be shared among all agencies involved in the election.
The current maximum levy limitation of $1,127,477, which is .88 percent higher than last year, was approved by the board.
Statistically, operating referendums have a higher failure rate in presidential election years. Collins suggested that if a referendum is pursued that it be for an even number of years so that it does not come up for renewal again in an off year. He also advised asking for a dollar figure that is large enough to make an impact since getting approval for a number that is too small does not make sense.
Schwarz will gather additional information to present and discuss at the next board meeting.
Searching for a new superintendent
Board Chair Anderson stated that she has been in contact with the Lake Superior School District (Two Harbors and Silver Bay) board chair and their superintendent to discuss sharing a superintendent. Both were interested in considering the possibility. The idea however is very much in the beginning of discussion stage and will not even be considered by their full board until a January 12 meeting.
Lunde reported that she has been approached by several people asking if the district would contemplate sharing an administrator with Great Expectations School. Superintendent Schwarz indicated that she is not familiar with licensure requirements of charter schools. Anderson added that a review of state statutes would be necessary to see if it may be an option. The consensus of the board was to start a discussion to consider it.
The board voted to begin the search for a new superintendent who would also act as a kindergarten through grade 5 principal.
The Minnesota School Board Association will be asked to attend the next meeting to set a job description and start the search. The structure would move Principal Adam Nelson back to the job of being the grades 6 through 12 principal and would add a teacher on special assignment as needed to assist in overseeing special education. In the event other options materialize with the possible sharing of administrators with other schools the search can be halted.
As a correction to a board member’s statement at the last meeting, it is not a legal requirement that there be a licensed administrator in the building at all times.
Donations policy approved
The board approved a practice for accepting donations for the school including that the district cannot accept offerings with strings attached. However, if donations are accompanied by a specific request, every effort will be made to honor that request. Contributions can be made at the school district office or by mail to: Cook County School District, 101 West Fifth Street, Grand Marais Minnesota 55604.
In other news
. Principal Adam Nelson discussed the 27-minute per day advisory program which has been in place for students for the last couple of school years. Advisory time was made possible by decreasing regular class time from 55 minutes to 52 minutes per class. He noted a substantial increase in students achieving the honor roll because of it. The time allows for more targeted instruction for individual students in specific areas as well as a time for students to make up missed tests and attend band lessons without cutting into their regular instruction.
. Nelson’s contract for the current school year was approved. The contract awards the principal $89,361 at the rate of $388.53 per day for 230 days of work during the year. The agreement also allows for a matching contribution by the district of up to $2,100 per year to a tax sheltered annuity as well as a maximum of $15,363 toward a district health insurance plan.
. Following a December 7, 2015 hearing before an independent hearing officer, the board approved the expulsion of a student for possessing in his backpack on school grounds a knife with a 3 3/8th inch blade.The expulsion will be for the remainder of the school year and the district takes the responsibility of providing the student with appropriate alternative educational services.
. Anderson said more information on a preschool advisory council made up of parents will be presented at the January board meeting.
. Collins recounted that he has heard from Senator Tom Bakk that there will be no bonding available at the state level for an early childhood building in Cook County. Bakk relayed that the facility would need to have more local support and funding involved as well as probable commitments from the City of Grand Marais and the Cook County Board of Commissioners before being considered further.
Leave a Reply