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District finance team outlines revenue cap, projects $750,000 in savings from closure
Summary
Scottsbluff Public Schools finance director presented the district’s interpretation of the School District Property Tax Limitation Act and projected that closing Lake Minotaire would reduce annual general-fund expenditures by about $750,000; presenters said some one-time state apportionments should not be anticipated in the next budget year.
Mary Anne Carlson, the district’s executive director of finance, told trustees the School District Property Tax Limitation Act effectively limits a district’s allowable revenue growth and said staff had prepared conservative assumptions to estimate savings from closing Lake Minotaire Elementary.
Carlson walked the board through components of the revenue cap, state apportionment history and how non-property-tax revenue categories affect the district’s local tax asking. She said last year’s state apportionment included an unusual $1.1 million prior-year correction the state has told the district not to expect again for 2627. Carlson said the district projects needing to reduce general-fund expenditures by approximately $950,000 for 2627 and that closing Lake Minotaire and selling the building are part of a package to maintain reserves and balance the budget.
Carlson’s slide deck and later answers to trustees included these specific assumptions: that all Lake Minotaire students would remain in-district after closure (for forecasting), Lake Minotaire boundaries would be absorbed into Longfellow pending future board action, nine FTE could be eliminated via attrition (four certified, five classified), one additional certified FTE would be added at Longfellow for roughly two years, and sale of the Lake Minotaire building would reduce ongoing facility expenses. Carlson presented a figure on a slide showing $757,000 in projected savings under those assumptions.
Board members and public commenters pressed staff on which funds are legally available for day-to-day operations; Carlson reiterated that non-general funds are restricted in usage and thus not available to sustain day-to-day operations at Lake Minotaire. When asked about the elementary site allowance within the TEOSA formula, Carlson said the calculations are interdependent and that the revenue cap constrains simple offsets; "you can't get it both ways," she said regarding keeping the site allowance while also increasing local tax asking.
The finance presentation and the district’s modeling were the basis for the board motion to close the school.
