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$157,545 gap remains after series of reductions for 2024-25 term
The Ely School District projects to spend $157,545 more than it takes in during the 2024-25 budget year.
But the gap is of little surprise to school officials, who wrestled with budget issues earlier in the year, made a series of cost-cutting moves and decided to deficit spend this year rather than make further reductions.
School board members approved the budget Monday, at a special board session, on a 5-0 vote with Rochelle Sjoberg.
The board first looked at a budget gap at of better than $400,000 and members indicated then that they wouldn’t try and close the entire budget gap in one year because of the impact it would have on school operations.
Instead the board will dip into reserves to fill the remaining deficit.
“When we first started to look at the budget we came up with a number that was closer to a half-million dollars,” said board chairman Ray Marsnik. “I think we were all pretty much in agreement that because of the amount we would try to make the cuts over a two-year period.”
District unassigned fund balances will fall from just under $1.2 million to $1,029,841 as a result, but Marsnik said he looked at the fund balance “as more of a rainy day fund,” and cited the deficit as a reason for tapping in to the overall balance.
The budget includes a series of reductions, including cost savings realized by a retirement in the social studies department and by reducing the high school principal position to a K-12 assistant principal post.
Several other reductions were made in part-time staff and revenue enhancements for 2024-25 include higher participation fees and admission charges for school sports events.
The board is expected to explore more budget-cutting measures for 2025-26 and hopes for further aid from state lawmakers.
That was a source for brief discussion Monday as school officials voiced hope for further state assistance.
Despite a two percent increase in the state basic aid formula, board members noted that school districts across the state are dealing with budget deficits.
“It’s broad based across the state,” said board member Tony Colarich. “Something needs to be done. It’s not an isolated problem.”
Superintendent Anne Oelke noted that “all lobbying groups, not only ours,” are pressing for state assistance.
“Clearly there’s a problem with education funding right now,” said Oelke.
Board members also spent some time addressing the budget impact of the post secondary enrollment options program, which allows seniors and some juniors to take college courses at community colleges while receiving high school credit at the same time.
Funding for those students flows away from the district and to the community college.
“PSEO in general is something the state should look at,” said Marsnik. “We’re losing kids to the colleges. They should start looking at some redistribution of that money where the local district gets a portion of it. It is a problem.”
Board member Tom Omerza said the increase in state aid assistance is eaten up by inflation and higher costs for employee contracts.
He also suggested further education efforts aimed at high school students and their families, related to the PSEO program.
Omerza cited his own family’s experience with the program and said “It would be interesting if kids were given the plus and minus on both sides of the equation,” including potential trade-offs between one or two years of free college credits against the possible loss of scholarship money awarded to Ely’s high school students.
“I went in uneducated and now I know more after the fact,” said Omerza.
Marsnik also weighed in. “You look at PSEO, it’s a good program,” he said. “It’s good for the college. It’s good for the student, but it’s not very good for the local school district.”
