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Edgerton looks at 20 percent levy increase

EDGERTON — The Edgerton School District administration doesn't think there's any way to avoid a proposed 20 percent tax levy increase.

"We've already cut (15) staff out of this year's budget, and we've already whittled our maintenance (budget) down, and we've taken our fund balance down," Superintendent Norm Fjelstad said. "Unless you're going to start putting 35, 40 kids in the classroom, I don't see what we can do."

The public will get their say about the proposed tax levy at the annual meeting Monday.

The district is struggling with a severe cut in state aid. It's expected to get $10.3 million in aid in 2009-10, a 9.6 percent drop from last year's total of $11.4 million.

Brian Donnelly, school board president, has been on the school board for 21 years.

"This would be by far the biggest change year-over-year and the biggest budget crunch that we've ever had in Edgerton," Donnelly said.

"It all affects students. I think anybody who says it doesn't is kidding himself," Donnelly said.

State lawmakers cut school funding by an average of 3.1 percent per district, so Edgerton has been hit harder than most.

To make up for it, the district has proposed raising the tax levy by 20.4 percent, the most it legally can under state revenue limits.

The district saw the cuts coming throughout the year and did its best to prepare, said Fjelstad and Business Manager Mark Worthing. The school board approved cutting eight teachers, eight support staff and one custodial position in 2009-10, though stimulus funding will allow the hiring of one support staff member and one special education teacher.

It also approved cutting $50,000 from the maintenance budget and freezing its computer replacement schedule. That saved the district $80,000 in 2008-09 and will save $100,000 in 2009-10, though it also means the high school won't get the new computers it was scheduled to have, Worthing said.

The district can't use fund balance to help balance the budget this year because its fund balance already is low, Worthing said.

Like all districts, Edgerton still faces many questions before it approves a final budget in October. It doesn't know its 2009-10 enrollment or final state aid numbers. Though the district and teachers agreed on a teacher contract in May, Worthing still isn't quite sure how the contract will affect expenses. That's especially true because some teachers might be taking summer courses that would boost their salaries, he said.

The school board talked about its budget in spring but hasn't discussed the proposed levy yet, Worthing said.

But Fjelstad said board members knew what was coming.

He pointed out that the district has been lowering its tax rate—the rate property owners pay per $1,000 of property value—since the state started funding two-thirds of school budgets more than a decade ago. So even though the tax rate probably will rise, it probably will be less than the rate five years ago, he said.

A look at the proposed 2009-10 budget for the Edgerton School District:

Operating budget

Next year $20.1 million

This year $19.81 million

Increase 1.4%

Tax levy

Next year $9.38 million

This year $7.79 million

Increase 20.35%

Note: Percent changes calculated on whole numbers.