The budget approved last week for Riverside-Brookfield High School projects an operating surplus of $340,000 for the 2009-10 fiscal year. But that operating surplus is only the result of a change in the law that calls for 55 percent of the previous year’s property tax bill to be collected in the spring rather than 50 percent, the amount that has been billed in the past in the spring.
Without the change in the law that calls more property tax to be collected in the spring and less in the fall RB would be facing an operating deficit of about $650,000 this year, according to RB’s budget, which was unanimously approved by the District 208 school board on Sept. 8.
The additional revenue collected next spring will result in less property tax revenue next fall as RB, like all other taxing bodies, will collect less in the fall than they have in the past as a result of the new law.
“Without this law change, our operating funds would have a net deficit for the year,” said RB Business Manager Chris Whelton in an e-mail. “We are projecting significant deficits in FY 2011 and 2012.”
Unless further budget cuts are made next year, RB’s operating deficit in the 2010-11 fiscal year could rise to around $1 million, according to District 208 Interim Superintendent David Bonnette and Whelton.
In the 2008-09 fiscal year, which ended June 30, RB finished with an operating deficit of about $695,000, Whelton said.
RB has been covering its operating deficits by using reserves, including the $4.9 million in working cash raised by selling bonds last year. At the Sept. 8 school board meeting where the budget was passed, Whelton outlined a number of steps RB has taken to control spending recently.
RB has cut 2.5 full-time staff positions this year and has cut its staff from 166.52 full time equivalents in 2007-08 to 158.10 in 2009-10. A total of 2.1 teaching positions were cut this year and nearly five teaching positions have been cut since 2007-08.
The school has also switched food service vendors in move to increase quality and save money and has cut costs throughout the budget in areas such as supplies, catering and staff development.
Whelton also managed to save about $11,000 by renegotiating the deal with RB’s yearbook supplier. Whelton has been renegotiating deals with many of RB’s vendors and putting contracts out to bid in an attempt to find savings that don’t impact instruction.
“We really have to watch our pennies,” said Mike Welch who co-chairs the school board finance committee. “My opinion is that we need to hold the line on expenses. We need to spend our money wisely.”
RB officials plan to hold a community meeting later this fall to lay out RB’s financial condition in detail.
“We are planning to have public meeting to discuss options, budget cuts for 2011 and to review five-year financial projections in November,” Whelton said.
Ultimately the RB community may have to decide whether it wants deep cuts to programs or whether it is willing to pay more in taxes to support the current programs, school board members say.
