Deragisch, H-BC Board struggle with budget woes

By Jolene FarleyA projected $150,000 budget shortfall for next year at Hills-Beaver Creek schools was the main topic of a Monday School Board meeting.Superintendent Dave Deragisch and members of the finance committee met previously to determine possible areas to cut or increase revenues. They came up with $117,750 in tentative reductions or fee increases."We talked about some cuts that would adversely affect the students, and they’ve been tossed out and thrown away," Deragisch said.During his presentation Deragisch attributed the budget shortfall to:
No increase in state funding,
A $155,000 special education payment to Luverne,
More than $700,000 decrease in H-BC’s levy since 2002,
Unfunded mandates by federal and state governments.
Increased costs (payroll, insurance),
Increased heating bills,
Increased cost of fuel for buses,
Increased cost of property and workmen’s compensation insurance and
Increased requisitions the last two years.According to Deragisch, solutions to the budget problem include:
reducing costs,
eliminating duplicate spending (share resources),
making sure employees are aware of spending and
looking for alternate sources of funding for special projects.Essentially the district must either cut expenses or raise revenues, and the main ways to raise revenue is to increase enrollment or raise the operating referendum, according to Deragisch. Each new student brings approximately $5,500 in state aid to the district. "It’s really scary when I hear we have a family moving away, and there goes three kids," Deragisch said.The Hills-Beaver Creek district currently has an operating referendum of $229 per student. An operating referendum is levied to help pay for the daily operation of a school district. The average operating referendum in the area is $531 per student, according to Deragisch. The highest operating referendum in the state is $2,330 per student, with 87 percent of the districts levying.If the board agreed to all the cuts and fee increases, it would bring the district within $32,250 of a balanced budget for this year. "In reality this is a one-year fix, we can do it this year, next year it won’t be $117,000," said board member Ann Boeve.No decisions were made at Monday’s meeting. Deragisch asked the board to talk to district residents and be ready to vote on the budget at the Monday, May 10, meeting.Specific examples of possible ways to increase revenues are:
Decrease requisitions by $15,000 by delaying the purchase of new science textbooks,
Decrease office supplies use by $1,500.
Reduce the staff development budget by 67 percent or $8,400.
Reduce school board staff development (travel and education) by $2,000.
Reduce the computer budget by $5,000.
Reduce the substitute teacher budget by $1,000.
Raise lunch prices by 10 cents to add $4,500 in revenue.
Reduce the Learning Readiness budget by $3,000.
Raise driver’s education fees from $150 per student to $180 and increase revenues by $600.
Eliminate the high school early morning coverage. Deragisch or Dean of Students Steve Wiertzema will cover to save $1,500.
Reduce office personnel to save $15,000.
Reduce a teacher position to save $20,000.
Extend the computer contract for a savings of $___???___
Raise athletic fees from $20 to $30 per activity with a $100 maximum per family to increase revenues by $1,500.
Raise Community Education fees to increase revenues by $2,000.
Increase facility use fees by 25 percent to raise $1,500.
Attrition (retirements) will decrease expenses by $30,000.
Reducing bus use (including using smaller vehicles, possible coach drivers, charging more for Little Patriot and Learning Readiness busing) will reduce expenses by $3,000.