The good news is that property tax revenue for Bayfield schools is likely to be up in 2016. The bad news is that 2017 likely will be different.
District Finance Director Amy Lyons gave that news to the school board on Nov. 17 as part of her report on the 2015-16 budget. The board must pass a preliminary budget before June 30, with the budget year starting July 1; and then a final budget in December after the district's official pupil enrollment is known.
Lyons's update was lead-in to approval of the final budget on Dec. 9. District full time equivalent (FTE) enrollment is up around 22 students this year, she said, with a projected 1,293 students for per pupil funding. That's a combination of local property taxes and state funding, which has been declining.
There will be a bit of an increase in per pupil funding, because there are fewer kindergarteners in the total. They are only counted as 1/2 FTE for funding, Lyons said.
There will be about a $70,000 increase in property tax revenue through the mill levy over-ride approved by voters in 2012, because the district's assessed valuation is up around $17 million for property taxes due in 2016, Lyons said. But it's likely to be only for that year, she and Superintendent Troy Zabel said.
The district probably won't have to dip into fund balance for the 2015-16 budget, as it did for the 2014-15 budget, around $127,000 worth, Lyons reported. "All in all, I feel really good about where we are," she said.
But transportation costs are up sigificantly, she continued. Zabel cited athletic trips for successful sports teams, and transporting special needs students to services.
The district bought a propane-fueled route bus this year, and it's working very well, Zabel said. He and the district transportation director are talking about buying another one. "Most of the roads we travel on are gravel, and there's a lot more maintenance on the diesel buses than the propane buses," he said.
Another big expense that's coming up is resurfacing the high school track. Lyons said they set aside money over 10 years to pay for that, but Zabel said the cost is likely to be higher than they have expected.
State funding cuts are an ongoing issue. Lyons said districts have been given preliminary information of a 1.8 percent state funding increase for inflation, but with a $50 million increase in the Negative Factor for 2016-17, meaning the shortfall in statewide per pupil funding. Between the two of those, Bayfield will get a net increase of around $100 per student, Lyons said.
"As soon as we get done with ths year's budget, we'll jump into next year's budget," she said. "The Negative Factor is such a killer. We're coping, but we aren't coping well. It's a real challenge for us."
Zabel added, "We are operating with $1.3 million a year less than in 2008."
He said preliminary state budget information is likely to change. "They are talking about a $20 million hit to higher education, and (cuts to) road funding because of constitutional issues," he said. The state TABOR Amendment limits how much state or local government revenue can increase from year to year.
Revenue above the limit must be refunded to taxpayers somehow, unless voters approve an opt out from revenue limits. Most local government entities have gotten voter approval for those opt-outs, referred to as deBrucing, but the state has not.
"This past year, we were the second most prosperous state in the country, but we have to return all that money," Zabel said.
