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Board approves referendum

By CHRIS RANDAZZO
of The Gazette
The Stevens Point Area Public School District Board approved a five-year, recurring $1.6 million referendum when it met Monday, Jan. 10, but that referendum would only scratch the surface of the district's debt problems.

The referendum was approved by a 5-4 margin (with Robert Larson, Chris Scott, Elmer Fournier and Trudy Beth Peters voting against it) after nearly two hours of debate, which included a variety of other referendum motions and amendments.

Fournier said one of the reasons he voted against it was there was a lot of confusion about the impact it would have. "I'm not real sure what went on," he said.

That confusion has left the district with a referendum that would give it a $388,343 surplus in the 2005-06 school year, a $1,806,449 deficit in 2006-07, a $4,181,925 deficit in 2008-09 and a $6,456,195 deficit in 2009-10 according to school administration.

That problem became apparent Tuesday when Superintendent Dave Schuler and his staff ran the numbers through the model prepared by the district's financial adviser, Robert W. Baird & Co. That same model was used to identify the district's budget deficits.

There were hints that there might be problems with the referendum Monday night when, after the referendum passed, there seemed to be confusion between Schuler and board members on what they were directing him to do.

In the end, the board directed him to prepare the information for the five-year referendum and to come up with a list of cuts the district would need to make should it fail.

"Obviously we will do whatever the board directs us to do," Schuler said on Tuesday.

There is some question regarding the validity of the district's numbers as a financial forecast prepared by Board Treasurer Jim Harmon using the same model shows that the district would only need a recurring $800,000 referendum once the cuts approved on Monday night were figured into the model.

Neither Harmon nor Schuler could identify the reason for the discrepancy in their numbers on Tuesday.

"I don't see an error in my numbers and I don't see an error in the Baird model numbers but they're very different and there's got to be a reason," Harmon said.
Schuler said that district staff would be forwarding Harmon's calculations to Robert W. Baird & Co. this week in order to identify the cause of the discrepancies.

Fournier said that the problem was likely due to issues involving recurring debt. If referendum money is used to pay a recurring cost in one year that cost will still be there the following year and the money won't be there to pay it.

Harmon said that if his numbers were inaccurate, the board would need to adjust the dollar amount on the referendum.

Cuts included in the approved referendum include reducing 7.15 full-time equivalent staff (FTE) at the secondary level; reducing the district's operating budget by $144,835 for 2005-06 through the budget development process; restructure the secondary administration, saving the district $100,000; reducing, through attrition, new assistant principal contracts from 220 to 210 days; not replacing the district's assessment coordinator when he retires at the end of the year, and instead combining a 40-day extended contract with McKinley Center Principal John Blader's contract, making him the assessment coordinator; and not replacing the principal at Plover-Whiting Elementary School when he retires next January and using current administrative staff to cover administrative duties at the 10 elementary schools.

It also includes adding a half-time math coordinator under a teacher contract because of the positive results of a similar reading coordinator position.

The one-year referendum that Schuler recommended to the board also called for reducing guidance staff by one FTE at the high school level and reducing an additional 7.15 positions at the secondary level, but the board chose not to follow those recommendations.

Schuler's recommendation says that the reducing the 14.3 FTE positions at the secondary level would maintain current staff ratios because of declining enrollment.

Those positions were the subject of much debate on Monday night.

The current student-to-teacher ratios at the secondary level are: Stevens Point Area Senior High School, 20.6-to-1; Ben Franklin Junior High School, 17.4-to-1; P.J. Jacobs Junior High School, 18-to-1.

However, those numbers are averages and aren't the norm in the core curriculum classes. Most special education staff is removed to avoid skewing the numbers, but small special education, music and tech-ed classes that often number five to seven students are included.

Schuler said that most core classes in math and English have ratios closer to 24- or 27- to 1.

Board Member Mark Marti said that replacing the quality of teachers down the road that the district loses when it reduces positions is difficult as is adding the positions back later. "Once those 14.3 (FTE) are gone, it's going to be hard to get them back," he said. "You may take a bit of a hit now for a big payoff down the road."

Harmon agreed. "I would suggest that now is the opportune time to repair class sizes at the secondary level," he said.

Others weren't so sure. "We're adding to the educational system at the same time we're cutting," Fournier said.

Board Vice President Chris Scott said she agreed that lowering class sizes is important, but thought it would be hard to ask the community to do that at the same time it was asking for money to maintain its programs. "I want to give the community time to process this, to help them realize that we're asking them for the minimum we can," she said.

Another issue of debate was the length of the referendum.

Schuler's proposal was for one year and some board members thought that would be an appropriate length. "I'm afraid if we do a multi-year referendum, it won't pass," Scott said. "The one-year referendum will give us a vision of what we need."

Peters also favored a one-year referendum as it would give the district additional time to plan for the future. "Hopefully we can reorganize and make the best use of our money," she said.

Others members disagreed.

"One-year is a band aid," Dwight Stevens, school board member, said. Stevens said he thought the referendum should be for at least three years.

Harmon said that even if his figures were wrong, he'd still support a longer referendum. "I still believe in a five-year-recurring referendum almost regardless of the (dollar) numbers," he said.

One thing the board did agree on was that it was at a critical juncture in terms of funding and that it was running out of places to make cuts.

"We're not talking about frills and extras, we're talking about preserving the education our parents provided for us," said Mike O'Meara, board president.

"Everything has been done to cut fat," Stevens said. "We're down to the muscle.
Board Member Mary Thurmaier asked community members to contact their legislators in order to ask them to support schools because state-mandated revenue caps and programs are the primary culprits in the district's budget problems. "We need to make sure the public understands why we're losing so much money," she said.

The revenue caps are tied to enrollment, so when a district has declining enrollment it lowers the amount it is receives in state funding and the amount it can levy.

However, because the declining enrollment is spread across the district's schools, it rarely allows the district to change the number of classes it offers.

O'Meara said that a quality education system helps attract people and businesses to the area and that helps everyone in the community, not just those with children in the schools. "The community will have to decide what it wants and what it's worth to them."

The board next meets on Monday, Jan. 24, where it will likely discuss possible changes to the referendum figures.

A final decision must be reached on a referendum by Feb. 18 in order to include it on the regular election ballot in April.



	Board approves referendum By CHRIS RANDAZZO of The Gazette The Stevens Point Area Public School District Board approved a five-year, recurring $1.6 million referendum when it met Monday, Jan. 10, but that referendum would only scratch the surface of the district's debt problems. The referendum was approved by a 5-4 margin (with Robert Larson, Chris Scott, Elmer Fournier and Trudy Beth Peters voting against it) after nearly two hours of debate, which included a variety of other referendum motions and amendments. Fournier said one of the reasons he voted against it was there was a lot of confusion about the impact it would have. "I'm not real sure what went on," he said. That confusion has left the district with a referendum that would give it a $388,343 surplus in the 2005-06 school year, a $1,806,449 deficit in 2006-07, a $4,181,925 deficit in 2008-09 and a $6,456,195 deficit in 2009-10 according to school administration. That problem became apparent Tuesday when Superintendent Dave Schuler and his staff ran the numbers through the model prepared by the district's financial adviser, Robert W. Baird & Co. That same model was used to identify the district's budget deficits. There were hints that there might be problems with the referendum Monday night when, after the referendum passed, there seemed to be confusion between Schuler and board members on what they were directing him to do. In the end, the board directed him to prepare the information for the five-year referendum and to come up with a list of cuts the district would need to make should it fail. "Obviously we will do whatever the board directs us to do," Schuler said on Tuesday. There is some question regarding the validity of the district's numbers as a financial forecast prepared by Board Treasurer Jim Harmon using the same model shows that the district would only need a recurring $800,000 referendum once the cuts approved on Monday night were figured into the model. Neither Harmon nor Schuler could identify the reason for the discrepancy in their numbers on Tuesday. "I don't see an error in my numbers and I don't see an error in the Baird model numbers but they're very different and there's got to be a reason," Harmon said. Schuler said that district staff would be forwarding Harmon's calculations to Robert W. Baird & Co. this week in order to identify the cause of the discrepancies. Fournier said that the problem was likely due to issues involving recurring debt. If referendum money is used to pay a recurring cost in one year that cost will still be there the following year and the money won't be there to pay it. Harmon said that if his numbers were inaccurate, the board would need to adjust the dollar amount on the referendum. Cuts included in the approved referendum include reducing 7.15 full-time equivalent staff (FTE) at the secondary level; reducing the district's operating budget by $144,835 for 2005-06 through the budget development process; restructure the secondary administration, saving the district $100,000; reducing, through attrition, new assistant principal contracts from 220 to 210 days; not replacing the district's assessment coordinator when he retires at the end of the year, and instead combining a 40-day extended contract with McKinley Center Principal John Blader's contract, making him the assessment coordinator; and not replacing the principal at Plover-Whiting Elementary School when he retires next January and using current administrative staff to cover administrative duties at the 10 elementary schools. It also includes adding a half-time math coordinator under a teacher contract because of the positive results of a similar reading coordinator position. The one-year referendum that Schuler recommended to the board also called for reducing guidance staff by one FTE at the high school level and reducing an additional 7.15 positions at the secondary level, but the board chose not to follow those recommendations. Schuler's recommendation says that the reducing the 14.3 FTE positions at the secondary level would maintain current staff ratios because of declining enrollment. Those positions were the subject of much debate on Monday night. The current student-to-teacher ratios at the secondary level are: Stevens Point Area Senior High School, 20.6-to-1; Ben Franklin Junior High School, 17.4-to-1; P.J. Jacobs Junior High School, 18-to-1. However, those numbers are averages and aren't the norm in the core curriculum classes. Most special education staff is removed to avoid skewing the numbers, but small special education, music and tech-ed classes that often number five to seven students are included. Schuler said that most core classes in math and English have ratios closer to 24- or 27- to 1. Board Member Mark Marti said that replacing the quality of teachers down the road that the district loses when it reduces positions is difficult as is adding the positions back later. "Once those 14.3 (FTE) are gone, it's going to be hard to get them back," he said. "You may take a bit of a hit now for a big payoff down the road." Harmon agreed. "I would suggest that now is the opportune time to repair class sizes at the secondary level," he said. Others weren't so sure. "We're adding to the educational system at the same time we're cutting," Fournier said. Board Vice President Chris Scott said she agreed that lowering class sizes is important, but thought it would be hard to ask the community to do that at the same time it was asking for money to maintain its programs. "I want to give the community time to process this, to help them realize that we're asking them for the minimum we can," she said. Another issue of debate was the length of the referendum. Schuler's proposal was for one year and some board members thought that would be an appropriate length. "I'm afraid if we do a multi-year referendum, it won't pass," Scott said. "The one-year referendum will give us a vision of what we need." Peters also favored a one-year referendum as it would give the district additional time to plan for the future. "Hopefully we can reorganize and make the best use of our money," she said. Others members disagreed. "One-year is a band aid," Dwight Stevens, school board member, said. Stevens said he thought the referendum should be for at least three years. Harmon said that even if his figures were wrong, he'd still support a longer referendum. "I still believe in a five-year-recurring referendum almost regardless of the (dollar) numbers," he said. One thing the board did agree on was that it was at a critical juncture in terms of funding and that it was running out of places to make cuts. "We're not talking about frills and extras, we're talking about preserving the education our parents provided for us," said Mike O'Meara, board president. "Everything has been done to cut fat," Stevens said. "We're down to the muscle. Board Member Mary Thurmaier asked community members to contact their legislators in order to ask them to support schools because state-mandated revenue caps and programs are the primary culprits in the district's budget problems. "We need to make sure the public understands why we're losing so much money," she said. The revenue caps are tied to enrollment, so when a district has declining enrollment it lowers the amount it is receives in state funding and the amount it can levy. However, because the declining enrollment is spread across the district's schools, it rarely allows the district to change the number of classes it offers. O'Meara said that a quality education system helps attract people and businesses to the area and that helps everyone in the community, not just those with children in the schools. "The community will have to decide what it wants and what it's worth to them." The board next meets on Monday, Jan. 24, where it will likely discuss possible changes to the referendum figures. A final decision must be reached on a referendum by Feb. 18 in order to include it on the regular election ballot in April.