Proposal would mean local mill levy hike
A bill on the floor of the Kansas House would reduce budget cuts for USD 257 next year, but increase local property taxes by 25 percent.
Dr. Craig Neuenswander, superintendent of schools, told board members Monday night that according to Department of Education analysis, the bill would reduce the district’s projected budget authority loss from $902,000 to a touch over $617,000. A part of the package would require the local levy to increase by 12.98 mills, to 61.
“Legislators say they want to make the state aid formula as simple as possible,” Neuenswander said, yet the current bill would reconfigure several elements, including local option budgets, and would “create three new funds, each with new taxing and expenditure regulations.” Legislation being debated would cut base state aid for USD 257 by $273,562.
Neuenswander thinks the chances of the House measure becoming law are iffy at best.
“It also would have to pass the Senate, which is working on some tax increases, and be signed by Gov. Mark Parkinson, who has said repeatedly that he doesn’t want any more cuts in state aid for education,” Neuenswander said. “I doubt if all three of those things will happen.”
Regardless of what occurs, the district will lose $267,000 because of a decrease in enrollment this year, and will face an estimated $77,000 increase in expenditures for food, fuel and utilities.
BOARD members briefly reviewed past ideas for dealing with budget cuts.
Several said they weren’t eager to spend down the district’s contingency reserve fund, standing at about $500,000. As much as $300,000 must be on hand to ensure solvency of payroll checks in light of state aid payments lagging up to three weeks past due for several months now.
Board members also are reluctant to trigger a 2 mill increase in the capital outlay fund to raise about $100,000. It is at 5 mills now. Use of such money is restricted to physical improvements, purchases of equipment and this year, a $129,000 lease payment to the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.
Before the state revenue crunch, state aid matched locally raised capital outlay money; it doesn’t now.
Buck Quincy proposed that board members prepare prioritized lists of cuts they would prefer. Neuenswander agreed.
Board members also wondered if changing education delivery at the high school — from blocks to more traditional seven-period days — would save money without hurting education.
The block method has four 90-minute periods each day with students in classes on a split-week sequence. Days are designated blue and gold, with three blue one week and three gold the next. Students thus meet in a class three times one week, twice the next. Teachers work with students three blocks a day and have the fourth for planning time.
“The blocks have been in place about 12 years and it’s probably time to look at them,” Neuenswander said, noting that without extensive study he didn’t know whether a switch could save money.
