Proposed School District Budget...
I received an email from School Board Director Bruce Warnimont today with a link to the "work in progress" budget for 2008/2009. He was careful to point out that the Board has not yet vetted it. The Finance Committee meets this coming Monday night and it is likely that the budget will be discussed at that meeting.
Comments from the public are viewed as carrying great weight, especially in these formative stages. Warnimont pointed out, for example, that "Fund 41", in school accounting jargon, is the area where all the larger physical improvement/repair projects get funded. This is also unique in that this fund's size is established by District residents by direct vote at the Annual Meeting in October. Once that amount has been set, the Board has no power to alter the appropriation. While it tends to defy logic, an increase in this fund does not necessarily mean higher tax rates. The additional funding, if approved, would come from another area within the budget.
The upshot is this: If you have some thoughts about things that need to be improved or repaired in the coming year, this is the time to make those thoughts known in person.
I have not had time to review the information found by clicking this link, but want to get it into your hands, if you desire to review it, as soon as possible.
I can tell you that Warnimont doesn't sound too enthusiastic about this draft and there may be others with similar thoughts. I suspect there may be a move to task the administration to review and revise. If it were to be approved as stands, it would involve an overall tax levy increase of 11% over last year. That doesn't translate into an 11% property tax increase, incidentally. It would threaten the trend of school district-related property tax decreases we've seen recently, however.
