|
Last Updated: Apr 19th, 2010 - 14:14:06 |
Members of the Wayne Community School board intend to stand firm on taxes.
At a special meeting held April 12 for the purpose of approving the district’s budget for Fiscal Year 2011, the board voted unanimously to keep the district’s FY 2011 total tax levy at the same level as the current year, 16.96 dollars per thousand dollars of assessed value. A proposed budget was published with a tax rate of 17.13003. The board was not happy looking at a tax increase of 17 cents.
There were no public comments on the budget process, but the board and administration spent hours discussing the figures.
Board member John Allen said he did not understand how they could be certain a tax increase is necessary if the district has not settled with the teachers for the coming year.
“We’ve got a lot of good farmers just squeaking by,” board member Sam Moss added. “It’s hard to tell farmers they have to take a cut to give teachers a raise. Farmers are people, too, and they have families.”
At the request of the board, superintendent Rob Busch and board secretary Denise Larson crunched the figures on the budget several ways during the discussion.
Much of the board’s concern seemed to center around the possibility of raising taxes to increase pay. There are also increases in insurance, FICA and IPERS which figure into the compensation package. Some board members appeared to be in favor of the district absorbing those increases. Others suggested holding the district cost the same, which would in effect give teachers a smaller take-home figure as they absorb the insurance increase.
Busch told the board the district will need to come up with more budget reductions if they do not increase taxes. He also indicated the district could possibly be in worse financial shape if teacher negotiations go into arbitration, because the district would then have to accept the arbitrator’s decision. “I don’t see that we can go to arbitration and win a negative amount,” Busch said.
“We’ve got to stop this and draw a line,” Allen said “Put one foot down and make a stand.”
In other business at the special meeting, the board held a public hearing to receive input on the 2010-2011 school calendar. No one was present to comment.
Busch explained he had hoped, in view of the whole grade sharing agreement with Lineville-Clio and Mormon Trail schools, that the three schools could adopt the same calendar. He now sees that as improbable, he said, because Mormon Trail starts Aug. 19 in order to complete the first semester before Christmas break. He said in previous years he received opposition to even staff development days that occured during Iowa State Fair.
The board did approve a request to the state for an early start, in order to start school before Labor Day, but tabled action on the 2010-2011 calendar.
The board also adopted a resolution to accept the state’s settlement of funds transfer made by the former Russell Community School District.
They then went into closed session to discuss the teacher compensation package for the 2010-2011 school year per Iowa Code 21.9.
© Copyright 2005 Corydon Times
