“A change of culture is the goal,” Dr. Robert Newhart said, “so the same thing that happened three or four years ago to get us in this mess won’t happen again.”
And thus began the public process of getting the St. Joseph School District back on a firm financial footing.
A friendly crowd of about 50 people joined Superintendant Newhart and other district staff members for the first town hall meeting in the district’s “1Vision – Many Voices – Our Future” initiative. A task force begins meeting next week, and, armed in part with information collected from the public in these town hall meetings, they hope to present the school board with a new plan.
Newhart kicked off the meeting with a video presentation, then a power-point slideshow, all pointing to the increasingly dire economic straits the district finds itself in after letting the 63-cent operating levy expire two years ago. In the aftermath of the stipend and nepotism scandal, the district decided not to put the levy before voters when its sunset clause kicked in.
Now that decision is forcing their hand. One slide presented to the crowd told the story well. Projections show that the district’s fund balances, if not addressed, will fall into the “distressed category” in about two years, and by the year 2020, the district would run the risk of being taken over by the state.
“We can’t let that happen,” Newhart said.
Newhart was joined on the stage at the meeting room at the East Hills Library by Dr. Marlie Williams, his Assistant Superintendent of Academic & Education Services, and by Wes Metz, the district’s director of finance. The trio fielded questions ranging from right-to-work to bathroom breaks during lunchtime, from serving students “prison food” to getting a school zone at a facility on a state highway. Many just wanted to know what’s coming, and others asked what we could expect if we don’t raise more revenue.
“There has to be a revenue source,” he said, pointing out that about 80% of the district’s budget goes to staff salaries and benefits. He said that’s a fairly typical ratio. But if cuts are to be made, Metz said that’s the first place they’ll look. Metz and Newhart laid out a list of efforts they’ve already made to cut costs, from installing new energy-efficient lighting, to reducing staff through attrition.
When confronted with what one person described as “the elephant in the room,” two school board members still on the bench since the problems started , Newhart first applauded both for their efforts in what he called a thankless job, and then pointed out that by the time any new revenue source is approved by voters and the funds come in, neither would still be members of the board.
“Much of what happened was due to information they never had,” Newhart said.
Dr. Newhart said as of right now he’s not proposing anything, letting the task force gather information and make a recommendation. If a tax measure is to be put to the voters in November, they would have to present it to the County Clerk’s Office by August 29. The district’s options include a new operating levy, a so-called Prop C sales tax exemption, a debt-service levy, or possibly a combination of those. Newhart says he’s recommending against the debt service idea, but he said “we’ve got to do something, we have to be proactive.”
“You dont’ want to get to the cliff, fall over, and hav to make rash, harsh decisions at a later date,” he said. “Let’s be proactive now and get this plan put together.”
The task force begins meeting next week. You can take part. Find the replay form and more information on the district’s Web site.