WASHINGTON ISLAND, WI, March 17, 2011 – Once again the Washington Island School District will be asking the community to vote on a referendum for the 2011-12 financial year, to cover the amount that is not entirely funded by all of the other sources of funding that the school receives.

On the positive side, the total operating budget for the school will decrease again this year to $1,139,361 from last year’s $1,173,882, or approximately -2.9%. The anticipated savings will come from changes that are occurring at both the state and local levels. In real terms, it is a drop from $373 per $100,000 of assessed value in 2010 to $349 per $100,000 of assessed value in 2011 or -6.5%.

At the state level, the reductions will come with the anticipated passage of the 2011 Budget Repair Bill. As of this writing, the bill had passed both the Senate and Assembly and will be signed by Governor Walker as soon as it is ready. It must first go to a Legislative Board where it is prepared in the official format for signing. Key areas where this bill will help the District budget shortfalls are:

• the health care contribution requirement from the Island teachers would increase from 10% to 12%;
• a retirement contribution requirement of 5.8% of salary on average, or a savings of about $32,000; but could further mean 50% of what’s being paid out now to the Wisconsin Retirement System of about $75,000, or a savings of about $37,500;
• the opportunity for the School Board to explore other health care providers to allow for better control of health care benefit costs.

At the local level, great progress has been made with the Gibraltar School District in the form of shared services and is expected to result in additional savings. Expected costs for the services are being examined and a proposed agreement is being developed. In addition to Gibraltar, the other county schools are also still at the table and investigating how the schools can all help each other. The Districts are working together to determine technology needs and requirements to offer Island students additional ITV and distance learning opportunities, including AP classes, drivers ed, and business classes. There are 2 Island students taking a business class through Sevastopol this semester. While the students are receiving the credit for the class, it is also being used as a test class allowing the opportunity to make adjustments as needed.

On the downside, even with these savings, the school would still be operating at a shortfall and is the reason the Board requested a Referendum of $346,700, up from $292,700 last year. The shortfalls come from a variety of areas, including:

• a decrease of funding per student by $597.21, or a loss of about $40,000;
• approximately $50,000 in grant money carryover from the 2009-2010 budget that will not be available in the 2011-12 budget;
• approximately $27,000 removed from the budget through budget cuts of about $15,000 and cash flow balance use of about $12,000, both of which should be restored;
• a frozen tax levy – meaning the school district would not be allowed to levy an additional amount on your property tax bill to offset what will be lost.

The pie charts (pictured below) show a breakdown of where your property tax bill went for the years 2000 and 2010. Please note the Island School has decreased its share of the pie by 6% during those 10 years. However the amount of money leaving the Island to go to the county and NWTC continues to rise.

The School continues to respond to community suggestions and concerns and looks forward to continuing the efforts. A fully funded school is essential to sustaining a diverse year-round population and will allow the 5-Year Plan to continue without interruption on a path to succeed in becoming a 21st Century School.

from the Referendum Committee

View all Island News