Northwest Local board hears financial outlook as staff recommend renewing fixed-sum levy

The Northwest Local Board of Education received a detailed financial update in its May meeting as district staff warned that declining enrollment and recent state funding mechanics make renewing a fixed-sum levy a near-term priority.

Steph, the district finance lead, told the board the district is down roughly 200 students since 2020 and is projecting further declines. "We're down 200 students, and we're projecting based on historical data that will continue to go down," she said, framing the trend as the central driver of the district's five-year outlook.

Steph said open-enrolled students no longer carry supplemental funding to the district and that salaries and benefits account for about 75% of expenditures, leaving staffing as the primary lever for cost reductions. "When you look at our enrollment numbers...the enrollment numbers aren't going to support the current staffing patterns K through 6," she said, adding the district will rely on retirements and selective hiring to reduce staff levels over the next three to four years.

Staff also described how the state funding "guarantee" has changed the district's position. "At this point, we are $3,500,000 on the guarantee," Steph said, explaining that property valuation and other formula factors have put the district on a long-term guaranteed funding baseline that can widen the gap between local need and state allocations.

Board members asked about scenarios. The Chair noted the district's cash-on-hand projections and urged staff to present community-facing materials showing that, "in the worst case scenario in 2030, if we didn't pass the new levy, we're still $6,750,000 ahead," while also explaining that without renewal the district would begin deficit spending thereafter.

Given those projections, staff recommended the district pursue a renewal of its emergency (now fixed-sum) levy. Legal counsel confirmed the district can label the ballot question a "renewal" even under the fixed-sum terminology, and staff said a renewal executed as planned would keep finances stable through about 2030.

Staff cautioned that recent property-tax and levy-timing changes in state law complicate when a community should place a levy on the ballot. Steph said the district will follow up with precise timing and legal guidance; she told the board she would return with materials and the formal request to place the renewal on the ballot for board consideration.

The board did not vote on the levy at the meeting; instead, members endorsed staff returning with a proposed question and timeline for formal approval.

What happens next: Staff will finalize the levy question, public-facing materials and a recommended timeline and return to the board for a formal vote to place the renewal on the ballot.