Recap of 2021 Annual Meeting
The Burlington Area School District’s annual meeting took place on Monday, September 13 at Burlington High School. The school board elected Peter Turke, School Board President, to serve as chair for the meeting.
Ruth Schenning, Executive Director of Business Services, presented the 2020-2021 Treasurer’s Report. The income statement shows that revenues exceeded expenditures by $939,072, which is good news. Last year’s bottom line reflects significant budget adjustments throughout the year as well as the support of federal ESSER funds.
Further, protocols around COVID contributed to some costs being lower during the school year than anticipated. For example, most field trips did not take place and fewer in-person professional development trainings meant lower substitute teacher costs. After establishing the 2020-2021 budget, the district learned that ESSER funds could cover the cost of BASD’s virtual instruction program (offered as a risk mitigation option).
The 2021-2022 budget shows a deficit of $801,700 due to very conservative budgeting. The district has to budget for both increased fixed costs (such as utilities, a potential 1.23% CPI salary increase, a 5% increase in health insurance premiums) and flat per pupil funds from the state.
With a structural deficit, caused by increased costs and no new funding, the district spends conservatively throughout the year to close the gap. The negative number of $801,700 will change, and hopefully shrink, between now and when the original budget is set in October and the final budget is approved closer to the end of the fiscal year.
The income statement also showed a fund balance of $7,090,075. If the $801,700 gap doesn’t shrink as anticipated, the fund balance would go down. It is commonly accepted that school boards want a fund balance that provides for both cash flow and financial stability. Having a fund balance at 16.98% demonstrates financial stability. Advantages of having a healthy fund balance include less need for short-term borrowing (which avoids interest costs) and having assets available to cover unforeseen expenditure needs. While funding the referendum, the district’s fund balance helped to enhance the district’s bond rating, which lowered debt issuance costs. (To better understand fund balance, read the DPI’s description.)
The referendum-approved debt balance of $37,955,000 relates to the loan for the 2018 referendum. Noteworthy for this year was the school board’s decision in October 2020 to both keep the tax levy flat and pay off a portion of referendum debt before the due date. This strategy ultimately saved the community over a quarter million dollars.
Attendees approved a school tax levy of $22,591,254 setting the total levy at 1.41% in a vote of 90 to 18. There was no levy increase last year, so this equates to an average of a .7% increase over two years.
The mill rate, at $8.55, is used to determine individual tax bills. This means that the district anticipates that the mill rate will decrease overall by five cents (this varies by municipality). Last year, at $8.60, the Burlington Area School District had the lowest mill rate compared to its contiguous districts.
In her comments at the annual meeting, Schenning said, “We believe that the levy we are proposing for the 2021-2022 school year supports a budget that is fiscally responsible while continuing to meet the educational needs of BASD students.” The budget will be finalized in October after the official September pupil count is determined, state aid calculation is released, and the property values are set for the next tax cycle.
Attendees voted on three other resolutions:
- Resolution that the BASD School Board serve without pay (Passed 94-14).
- Resolution that BASD School Board members will be reimbursed for expenses incurred while performing board-related functions (Passed 89-19).
- Resolution authorizing the School Board to set the date, time, and location of the 2022 annual meeting (Passed 107-1).
Unlike some districts across the state, Burlington Area School District board members do not receive compensation for their service to the community. Board members can request reimbursement for expenses, such as attending training. The total amount for board member reimbursement in recent years: 2020-2021 ($0), 2019-2020 ($713), 2018-2019 ($492). The fourth resolution allows the school board to set the next annual meeting.
In a Superintendent’s Report, Superintendent Stephen Plank shared that even with COVID taking a great deal of the district’s attention since March of 2020, there has been a lot of progress across the district. Karcher Middle School was completed on time and on budget. All schools have received significant improvements to increase safety and security and complete needed maintenance. The district redrew it's elementary school boundaries and launched an extended care option at Dyer Elementary. The district made advancements around diversity, equity, and inclusion and located permanent homes for the district office as well as the Project WIN program, the Fox River Consortium, and the Community Education program renamed as Star Stuff Theater.
For more information, please refer to the Annual Report posted to the district’s website.
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