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One role of a school business manager is effective communication and transparency. To that end, I wanted to take this opportunity to briefly explain funding for public schools in Wisconsin, and specifically East Troy.
In general, the State of Wisconsin determines how much money our school district is legally permitted to raise through a combination of state aid and property taxes without a public referendum, which is referred to as the revenue limit. This revenue limit is determined by a state formula based on the number of students in our public schools. The formula changed significantly in 2011-12 when increases per student became a decrease of -$534.42. Then the revenue limit increases stopped and funding came via a separate, new per-pupil aid. As of 19-20 revenue limits are restoring. The following is a quick chart of recent history:
|
Year
|
Rev Limit Increase to Per Pupil Amount
|
Per Pupil Aid Increase
|
Total Revenues
|
Total Revenues w/out new transitioned services from other entities (TOS)
|
% Change
|
|
09-10
|
$200
|
N/A
|
$16,827,918
|
$16,168,434
|
2.96%
|
|
10-11
|
$200
|
N/A
|
$17,339,508
|
$16,680,024
|
3.16%
|
|
11-12
|
($534.42)
|
N/A
|
$16,078,172
|
$15,418,688
|
-7.56%
|
|
12-13
|
$50
|
$50
|
$16,252,823
|
$15,593,339
|
1.13%
|
|
13-14
|
$75
|
$25
|
$16,403,682
|
$15,692,282
|
0.63%
|
|
14-15
|
$75
|
$75
|
$16,753,017
|
$15,816,808
|
0.79%
|
|
15-16
|
$0
|
$0
|
$17,041,201
|
$15,840,579
|
0.15%
|
|
16-17
|
$0
|
$100
|
$17,451,735
|
$16,138,877
|
1.83%
|
|
17-18
|
$0
|
$200
|
$17,995,943
|
$16,485,891
|
2.20%
|
|
18-19
|
$0
|
$204
|
$18,543,079
|
$16,831,971
|
2.10%
|
|
19-20
|
$175
|
$88
|
$19,405,149
|
$17,262,694
|
2.56%
|
| 20-21 est |
$179 |
$0 |
$TBD |
$17,271,954 |
0.05% |
The conclusion is that since the reduction of 2011, fewer dollars have been added back to public schools each year, and after 2018-19 we finally surpassed 2010-11 levels again.
Since the cost of goods and services to the district has continued to increase at a faster rate than district revenue, in order to manage the subsequent shortfalls, the district has already cut its budgets by over $6.7 million in the past thirteen years and looked to reduce another $479,000 for the coming fiscal year. Unfortunately, April of 2020 held an unsuccessful operational referendum for the school.
Despite these funding scenarios, East Troy Community Schools remains committed to balancing the budget, improving programming options, and attracting and retaining the highest quality staff.
Some highlights and key points from the 19-20 fiscal year:
- A mill rate tax decrease from $9.21 to $9.18.
- Concluding the year with $875,018 higher in revenues than expenses; which after $121,000 reserved for the next chromebook replacement cycle, allowed the Board to allocate $400,000 in 20-21 for COVID related expenses. The remaining $354,000 allows for the continued long term goal of eliminating short-term borrowing.
As the points above show, we believe the East Troy Schools must invest with a balance of fiscal responsibility. We must invest in 21st century skills and programming that our students will need to succeed in an ever changing world. And we must invest in the infrastructure and capital of the school district in order to continue to be an attractive facility for students to attend. And once again, “Thank you” to the East Troy School Residents for the successful April 2015 which allowed for the completion of a brand new Little Prairie Elementary School open in September 2017. What a fantastic way to invest in our students and our community.
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