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Board hears projections showing steep enrollment decline and need for $1.3M in cuts to exit SOD
Summary
Finance staff told the Kenyon-Wanamingo board that enrollment projections forecast declining cohorts (kindergarten projected 27to 44 depending on scenario) and that the district would need roughly $1,300,000 in cuts to remove itself from SOD; staff cautioned a levy alone may not restore long-term solvency.
District finance staff presented enrollment models and the projected fiscal impact. Dawn (finance staff) told trustees that FY25 numbers are known and that projected kindergarten cohorts from birth-county census range from the high-20s to low-30s; she said each student represents roughly $10,000 in revenue and that a 112-student decline represents roughly $1.12 million in lost revenue.
The presenters reported a projected negative fund balance in FY25 ("negative 17.01% fund balance") and said that, to rebound from SOD in a single year, the district would need roughly $1,300,000 in budget reductions. Trustees asked whether a levy could fix the situation; the superintendent and staff explained statutory levy limits and additional state factors and warned that a levy alone is unlikely to fully restore fiscal health given persistent enrollment decline.
Dawn summarized the levy recommendation as part of the Truth-in-Taxation overview and told the meeting the board is recommending certification of the maximum levy, $3,528,705.04, as the staff-prepared resolution. The board later certified the levy by vote.
