Parents of students in Durango’s schools favored exploring a mill levy campaign as opposed to program cuts as Durango School District 9-R struggles to find ways to trim expenditures

About 45 people attended the Thursday evening meeting at Miller Middle School, and they protested the district’s priorities – such as allocating $900,000 for an athletic field when roof repairs and other maintenance are pressing.

The meeting was the second of two public sessions the district called to hear parents’ ideas on dealing with the budget squeeze.

In 2016-17, the district is aiming for a budget at least $465,000 below this year’s $42.2 million. That could mean more cuts, or a potential mill levy campaign as the district did in 2009. The successful effort added programs, technology and staff to the district.

Some parents questioned how the district can be experiencing a budget crisis if administration expects to break even this year, as District Superintendent Dan Snowberger said.

As the district’s budget has contracted over the past four years, so have programs and staff levels. Two years ago, 24 positions were cut. The fund balance also shrank from about $8 million in the 2012-13 school year to an estimated $5 million this year.

Snowberger said 9-R is taking measures to break even, like freezing salaries in the coming school year. The district is also trying to maintain a minimum 15 percent in reserve funds – 12 percent more than the state-mandated 3 percent – as a contingency fund. This year, the reserves have dipped to about 13.4 percent.

“If another recession hits, that 15 percent can sustain us for two years, so we don’t have to devastate,” Snowberger said.

Some attending Thursday’s meeting said there are other unexplored avenues to save money.

“I have concerns about transportation,” former school board member Chris Paulson told The Durango Herald. “They say we never have money for buses. Why are we not working with the city of Durango to outsource? Maybe the city could provide transportation for after-school activities. It’s something we should look into.”

Though almost 90 percent of attending residents said they want a mill levy campaign instead of slashing the budget, they asked that the district assess the feasibility and possibility of success of a tax increase ballot item – and explain precisely where the funds would go.

As one parent said, “There’s always a fundamental distrust between the government and the taxpayer. If you don’t tell them exactly what you’re spending it on, you won’t get it.”

jpace@durangoherald.com