By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
Not counting School Board members and district staff, all of two residents in the East Troy School District attended the annual meeting Monday night.
The annual meeting gives residents an opportunity to vote on the School District tax levy and the School Board members’ salary, among other things.
It is also a good time for residents to hear the about the “State of the District.”
District Administrator Chris Hibner briefed those in attendance on some of the accomplishments and “celebrations” in the district while also touching briefly on the challenges, funding being at the top of the list.
He pointed out that if the district could stem the loss of students to open enrollment it would save the district about $840,000 a year, which would in turn eliminate the projected budget shortfalls in the coming years.
He said the way to do that was to continue to focus on programming and personalized learning environments for the kids. The renovations at the high school and additions along with the new school and the SmartLabs at Prairie View and the middle school (see the related story on this page), Hibner said the district had a lot to offer students and he believed East Troy would see a turn around in open enrollment numbers because of that.
However, in the end, he said it came down to one thing – the kids.
“Our goal is to invigorate learning,” Hibner said. “We want to create an amazing place to learn.”
The annual report is available on the district’s website at www.easttroy.k12.wi.us and Hibner encouraged residents to read it.
Setting the tax levy
While the final numbers on student enrollment are still being calculated and the property tax assessment won’t be available until Oct. 1, the district’s Business Manager Kathy Zwirgzdas recommended the board increase the tax levy by .3 percent as she said she would at the last meeting.
Zwirgzdas said the mil rate would increase from $9.97 to $10 with that increase, if all her projections held.
