Resident questions district budget figures, enrollment and debt at board meeting

Peter Bilski, a retired business consultant and Green Bay resident, used his public-comment time to ask the board for clearer financial comparisons and access to historical revenue and expenditure data before the district’s forthcoming referendum work. “Teachers I mean, students now, make up about 17,954,” he said, adding that enrollment declined by 1,212 students in five years (a 6.3% drop) and that he wants a side-by-side review of revenues and expenditures over the last five years.

Bilski said he had noted an all-funds budget figure of $564,000,000 and expressed surprise at the district’s scale. He also highlighted a reported increase in annual debt payments from $30,000,000 five years ago to $48,000,000 today and asked for a meeting with staff or board members to get detailed figures. The board chair offered to follow up after the meeting so Bilski could arrange further review.

Board members corrected a factual characterization Bilski used: the chair clarified the “one-to-one” label he applied was not administrators-to-students but rather “all other staff to students,” noting different staff categories are included in the figure Bilski cited.

The board did not take immediate action on Bilski’s request but acknowledged the value of public questions as they move into the referendum outreach phase.