By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
On the heels of a recommendation from residents last month, officials in the Waterford Graded School District have backed a plan to freeze the property tax levy for the 2015-16 school year, even as the second largest source of income – state aid – took a hit.
The WGSD School Board on Oct. 26 minted the district’s budget for the school year, certifying a property tax levy of $10,507,991. The figure mirrors the amount levied on taxpayers living within the K-8 feeder district a year ago.
The levy amount previously was voted on favorably by a small handful of residents who cast votes at the district’s annual meeting Sept. 28.
While the levy amount is unchanged from year-over-year comparisons, other aspects of WGSD’s budget are starkly different. As this year’s budget-building process came to a close, Superintendent Ed Brzinski pointed out challenges the district has faced, including the state aid reduction in the ballpark of $500,000.
“There were some significant hurdles, compared to prior years,” Brzinski said of the realities facing the 2015-16 budget building process as he presented the board with the final version of the document last week.
During the 2014-15 school year, WGSD received a slight bump of $6.33 million in state aid, compared to the $6.10 million taken in during the 2013-14 school year. This school year, however, WGSD is netting around $5.79 million in state aid.
Beyond decisions made by state legislators, several factors go into determining how much each public school district receives in state aid, including student enrollment. Historically, WGSD’s pupil counts have been declining, though officials are optimistic and are seeing a reversal in the trend.
There were not any notable cuts to WGSD’s program offerings or staffing levels this year, despite the loss in state aid and flat property tax levy. To shore up the spending deficit, Brzinski and the School Board decided to dip into reserve dollars in the fund balance.
“It was a little more challenging putting this year’s budget together,” Brzinski said. “Fortunately, previous boards spent very wisely. This is a very sound budget.”
According to the finalized budget document, WGSD officials are expecting the fund balance for the district’s general operations to clock in at $7.78 million when the books are closed in late June. At the start of this year’s budget period in July, the figure was at $8.50 million.
WGSD’s entire budget totals $16.94 million.
One of the most notable changes of this year’s budget is the implementation of 4-year-old kindergarten — a program that requires an upfront cost, though district officials expect it will positively impact WGSD’s budget and programming slate in the years ahead.
4K will not wallop WGSD’s 2015-16 budget as hard as once thought.
Earlier this school year, Brzinski revealed WGSD has received a $1,100-per-student grant to help offset some of the initial costs associated with the 4K program.
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