Budget is on agenda for school board

Monday, October 22, 2007 12:18 PM CDT

A public hearing on the Watertown Unified School District 2007-08 budget will be held Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Educational Service Center. Adoption of the budget is scheduled to follow at the regular monthly school board meeting.

During the public hearing Doug Linse, district business services director, will review the budget and explain different areas of spending. The public may comment or ask questions regarding the budget at this time.

Linse said the district received state aid figures Monday, Oct. 15, but district administrators are still figuring out final details and aspects of the budget.

The board will be asked to approve a $15,265,427 property tax levy. The tax rate will vary from municipality to municipality because each of them has a differing level of assessments when compared to market values. Those tax rates will be established in the coming weeks.

The proposed tax levy has increased from the preliminary budget approved during the board's September meeting. At the preliminary budget the total property tax levy was $14,644,294, which was 2.58 percent higher than a year ago. The preliminary levy included $12,671,939 for the general fund, $1,689,455 for debt retirement (the current high school debt) and $282,900 for community service portions of the budget.

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After reviewing state aid figures to the district, Linse said it is less than what school officials had planned on, causing the levy to increase and changes to be made to various parts of the budget.

“We had anticipated over $21 million in state aid and after looking at figures we are $350,000 short of that,” Linse said. “Because of the state's budget process the aid number was based on last year's figures. They will not recertify aid. It is what it is.”

Although legislators have agreed upon a budget it will not be voted upon until Tuesday. Linse said the district will use the state aid figures given to them earlier last week and will anticipate the $350,000 shortfall.

During the board's regular meeting Dr. Dave Vitale, district director of curriculum, will preview the upcoming Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam. Students in grades three through eight and in grade 10 will take exams in reading and mathematics. Students in grades four, eight and 10 will also take exams in language arts, science and social studies.

District policies that have been reviewed and have had minor changes will be approved at the regular meeting. Those policies include those on blood-borne pathogens exposure control plan, communicable diseases, at-risk programming and entrance age.

A resolution on the teaching and learning initiatives and planning and management goals will be brought to the board for approval. Teaching and learning initiatives will include improving mathematics education, expanding teaching and learning opportunities.

Planning and management goals include expanding educational opportunities, facilities expansion and improvement and long range financial planning.

A number of personnel issues, including resignations and appointments and field trip requests, will be voted on at the regular meeting.

- Resignations include Todd Bowditch, part-time high school custodian; Robert Mudler, high school freshman boys basketball coach; and Susan Zielke, high school food service.

- Appointments include Brian Staus, limited term high school social studies teacher; Jack Jolliff, high school food service; and Melissa Mattke, high school special education paraprofessional.

- A field trip request for the DECA Club to attend a DECA Leadership Lab in Wisconsin Dells Nov. 12-13.

- Field trip request for 15 eighth-graders to travel to Washington, D.C., from March 9-14, 2008.

- Field trip request for 25 to 30 eighth-graders to travel to Tampa Bay, Fla., for a science related trip from April 10-14, 2008.

- Field trip request for art history students to travel to New York, N.Y., from Feb. 22-25, 2008.