By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The Delavan-Darien School Board approved a preliminary budget for 2015-16 that includes a tax levy of $15.7 million and a mill rate of $9.85 per $1,000 of equalized property value.
The tax levy is up from $15.1 million during the 2014-15 school year and the mill rate is up from $9.46 per $1,000, meaning the owner of a property worth $100,000 would see a property tax increase of $38.49.
Business Administrator Mark Powell said because the state revenue limit included no increase in per pupil allocation, much of the reason for the increases is the passage of the $1.25 referendum in February. The board considered the referendum necessary to provide operating costs for the district. Other factors that contributed to the increase, Powell said, include a 2 percent salary increase for all staff, salaries and benefits for new staff hires, a 6 percent increase in health insurance costs, and the $1 million the district borrowed from the state trust fund.
Powell said that even with the passage of the referendum and the borrowing from the state trust fund, the preliminary budget has a $278,417 deficit. He said several factors could affect that figure before the budget is finalized in October like additional staff hires and enrollment figures that affect state aid.
Superintendent Robert Crist said he is confident the district can make up the difference between the projected $29.5 million in expenses in the preliminary budget vs. the $29.2 million in revenues by October. He also said the deficit exists despite the passage of the referendum because the referendum only partly addressed the district’s needs. He said the board originally asked for $2.1 million in two failed referendums and that amount would have served the district well. The $1.25 million that was approved, he said, addresses some but not all of the needs of the district, which is why the board had to borrow from the state trust fund.
Crist said if the referendum had not passed, the district would have been forced to dig into cash reserves and cut programs, which no one wanted to do.
“We want to try to maintain and build programs,” Crist said.
Crist said at the same time the district has to find ways to balance the budget, it must also compete with other districts for staff and meet the needs of its kids as best as it can.
“We don’t want open enrollment to continue to be a problem,” he said.
The approved preliminary budget will be presented to the public at the district’s annual meeting Sept. 28 at which time the community will approve a tentative levy. The board will approve the final budget in late October when student enrollment and state aid numbers are finalized.
Back-up generator
The board approved the purchase of a back-up generator for the high school at a cost of $111,000. Powell said the purchase was recommended in case of power outages that could severely damage district software and as a way to keep students safer. Powell said the only back-up power currently at any district school is back-up batteries for emergency lighting.
Powell said the biggest danger is if an outage occurred during extremely cold weather that could affect the HVAC system and water pipes along with computers. Crist said the high school was targeted for the back-up generator because it is the central hub of many district operations. Crist also said the generator could allow the district to provide a place for community members to go during a catastrophic event.
Board member Steve Logterman asked if the district had been rolling the dice by not purchasing a generator in the past 50 years. Powell said the district experienced four outages last year and luckily none of them occurred during cold weather.
Powell said the generator will be installed this fall.
