Wilmot grapples with financial challenges, balances budget

By Gail Peckler-Dziki~Correspondent

The Wilmot High School budget is balanced, but not without skillful steering of the financial ship. Over the past three years, financial director Dave Betz and the leadership team at Wilmot have trimmed 18 positions and $2.5 million in expenses.

“Those positions were of staff that retired and were not replaced,” explained Betz in a recent interview.

Some positions, like art teacher, were not replaced because of enrollment in the program. Some, like the driver’s education teacher, were not replaced because students were using either a private school or the Cooperative Educational Services Agency (CESA) program.

“Families that use CESA pay $400 for the program,” explained Daniel Kopp, Wilmot district administrator. “The program  actually offers much more flexibility for families. On the road training takes place after school or during study hall rather than a class time. And CESA offers the only accredited on-line classroom portion of the program.”

Students can accomplish the on-line class either at school on school computers or at home at their leisure.

In addition to cutting state through attrition by 18 positions, lights in the gymnasium were switched to more cost efficient lights with motion sensors. The district also refinanced the $35 million it carries in debt. The last refinancing cut the cost of the total debt by $1 million.

The district is not able to refinance again until 2014

and that would happen only if such a move impacts district finances positively.

Last year the district changed insurance carriers from the Wisconsin Educator Association (WEA) to the Wisconsin County Association (WCA) because WCA offered a similar policy for less.

This year, the district continued with the same company but tweaked the policy.

“We now have a high deductable with a health reimbursement fund and kept our costs frozen at the same $230,000 we paid last year,” Kopp said.

The budget for 2011-2012 was $14,659,531.70, and that for the next school year is $13,539,057. That’s a decrease of about $1.1 million. That decrease only keeps up with the $1.1 million decrease in state funding.

“When the state looks at aid,” Betz explained, “the number of students and the assessed value of the district are considered. If the number of students decrease, the district receives less state aid. The greater the assessed value, the less state aid is received.”

Some costs have gone up. Last year the district paid $38,000 for fuel for school busses; this year the district will pay $48,000.

The district maintains a healthy fund balance of $3.3 million. This fund balance allows the school to have a great bond rating, similar to a credit rating. It also allows the school to continue paying bills with less short-term borrowing. The school’s fiscal year starts on July 1; school starts on September 1 but the district receives no tax money until late December.

The less short-term borrowing, the less paid in interest on those loans.

Despite the fact that the budget has gone down, the mill rate, or amount per thousand dollars of home value, will go up. Last year’s mill rate was $5.087 and the mill rate for 2012-2013 will be $5.332. State aid is expected to be $4.4 million. Betz said that amount is less than state aid was in 2001-2002.


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