This year? The district projected 162 students over last year's 3rd Friday count, but we haven't heard diddly. What do you suppose that means? No news means not so good news...are we right?
10 days ago, we asked the district what the count was and were told it was around 150...between 150 and 160. But still, no official tally has been released.
We understand that school board members were told the final tally this week, and it is 130 additional students, or 32 LESS than projected. Great...but what does it mean? One thing is certain...it means we're still growing...and that is a good thing for a district that likes to spend money like it's going out of style.
No additional state aid...at least for this year
The 3rd Friday count has no impact on state aid for the current school year. State aid is based on an average count from the three prior years. What the 3rd Friday count DOES impact for this year is the state-imposed revenue limit. It means that the maximum amount the district can spend (total of federal & state aid plus property taxes) will be lowered. But...since the district was already planning to spend well underneath the revenue limit, the shortfall from projected enrollment does not negatively impact the 2011-12 budget.
But less students means less costs!
This is basic economics, folks. Less students means less cost to educate said students. Sure, the district will be quick to say "That's not true!". And yes, technically, whether we have 7000 or 3500 students, our "fixed" costs....building maintenance, debt levy, and most heating/cooling remain the same. But certainly, if we had half as many students, we wouldn't need as many teachers...or administrators. [Don't get yer undies in a bunch. We're not advocating to cut staff. But we are making a point.] Beyond personnel costs, there is the cost for textbooks, copy paper, supplies...everything needed to educate students.
So...if we have less students, the means we need to buy less paper...right? Not to mention less Skittles, Ho-Hos, and B.O.S.S. subs...right? In fact, when the district prepares its budget, it "plans" on a certain number of students. This "projected enrollment", then, drives the rest of the budget for supplies and even personnel.Basically, the district has a number...let's call it "x"...which represents the budgeted "cost" per student. Therefore, with a projection of 162 new students, the district must have multiplied 162 by "x" and arrived at an amount by which the budget needs to be increased "for enrollment". Unfortunately, they don't tell us what "x" is!
What's important is that since we have 32 less students than expected, certainly the budget can now be trimmed by 32X...right?
Solving for X
At the June 16, 2011 Public Hearing on the budget we were told that the district spends $12,345 per student.
| Sun Prairie School District Math |
Also at the July 18th meeting, we were shown a slide that stated that a 2.3% levy increase was required just for "additional enrollment". That allows us to do some math and determine that 2.3% of the 2010-11 budget comes to $1,046,584. With a projection of 162 new students, that means a tax levy increase of $6,640 per new student is proposed. Since we now know that we have 32 students less than projected, that means the tax levy c/should be lowered by at least $206,733.
Wanna bet we wont' see the school board advocating for a reduction in the levy? And certainly the district won't come forward.
Remember Phil Frei's mantra:
"We'll spend [any budget surplus] on something else."
Bottom Line: Anyway you slice it....no matter which figure you use, 32 less students than planned means that the proposed tax levy could be trimmed at the annual meeting by at least $200K to $325K just due to a lower enrollment than projected!
Posts
