Sangamon Sun

Williamsville Community Unit School District 15 Board Committee of the Whole met June 6.

Here is the minutes as provided by the committee:

Members Present: 

Matt Seman, Charlie Waugh, Tom Ray, Kurt Ratliff, Pam Kovacevich and Corey Conklin (late)

Administration & Staff:

Don Beard - Interim Superintendent

Public: 

Tip Reedy, Larry Van Alstine

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm.

A motion was made by Tom Ray and seconded by Pam Kovacevich to approve the agenda as read. 

Discussion: None 

Motion Passed

Mr. Beard discussed revenue growth options with the Board. The results are below.

Revenue Growth:

o Area Tax Rates

               o Mr. Beard shared a list of area School district tax rates with the Board. We are currently in the middle                   of the pack at 4.5638%. Pleasant Plains has the highest tax rate in the county at 5.2396%. There will                   likely be a few districts seeking a referendum. Riverton is considering it. Auburn passed a debt                             Service base extension three to four years ago that they are using for health, life, safety                                         requirements. 

o Increased New Money - referendum

                o An increase of $0.25 would generate $694,255 in new money

                            o New tax rate of 4.8138% 

                 o An increase of $0.50 would generate $1,139,751 in new money

                            o New tax rate of 5.0638% 

                 o An increase of $0.75 would generate $1,585,247 in new money

                           o New tax rate of 5.313.8% 

                  o The Board requested Mr. Beard reach out to other schools to see what, if anything, they plan to do                         regarding running a referendum 

o Fees

                  o A fee schedule from area Schools was provided to the Board. Fees were tabled at the last board                          meeting so further discussions could occur.

                           o Elementary - we are near the top. Only Riverton and Chatham are higher

                                      o Generate $60,000 in fees 

                           o Middle School/Junior 

                           o High High School - Riverton and Pawnee are higher than we are. We currently generate:

                                       o Other fees - $100,000+

                                       o Athletic fees - $27,000 

                                       o Gate - $31,650 generated 

                           o This is a short term shot in the arm, but does nothing to fix our overall revenue shortfalls

                           o Athletic fees were increased $5 to offset the concussion protocol  

o County Sales Tax

                  o Not looking very promising as Springfield 186 is looking more toward a building referendum than                          the county wide sales tax increase 

                  o They are looking to take care of their own needs first if at all possible 

                  o The County wide Sales tax is the most logical approach for all as it is largely funded by those                                outside the county. People do not seem to understand the benefit to all with this approach and how                      much the Counties themselves have benefitted from it 

o Closing Williamsville Middle School

                  o It is possible to close the middle School. SES is full, but more restructuring could be done at the JH.                      Computer labs would have to transfer to classrooms. PE would be an issue due to the number of                          students; as would library time. Special education classes would likely need combined which is                              problematic for our students in this area as we cannot have kids in a certain age span in the same                        area, etc. While closing this building is an option, logistically there would be many items to be                                worked out. This is something that would need to go on the list of the changes for the district if this                        referendum does not pass. We must be very specific in the picture of what the district looks like if                          this does not pass.

Summary:

o It is recommended to be as specific as possible with portraits of the District. What the District will look like with, and without, a referendum. 

o We must highlight what we have done to reduce expenditures. 

o Starting the 2017-18 school year with flat revenues and flat expenditures, results in a deficit of all funds of over $500,000.

o At the June 19" meeting, rather than a committee meeting at the end, we will have a closed session about the current collective bargaining agreement. Language recommendations will be discussed. Mr. Beard has asked the Board to review the current CBA prior to this meeting. 

o Bid opening on the health insurance is June 20". About a week later, we will have the analysis from Bushue, meet with the insurance committee, and then take this information into negotiations. 

o Property and Casualty looks like it will come in at a savings of approximately $20,000. 

o A recommendation was made to live stream the budget hearings and use social media to start reaching out to the public about the current financial situation. 

o A recommendation was made to talk to those districts that passed the limiting rate referendums to determine successful strategies.

o A motion was made by Corey Conklin and seconded Tom Ray to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 6:53pm.

http://www.wcusd15.org/index.php/board/board-meeting-minutes/930-20170606-board-committee-of-the-whole-meeting-minutes/file