BELLEVILLE - There could be some financial benefits to a Belleville, New Glarus and Monticello school district consolidation, but there would also be new challenges and questions for the districts.
The three school boards, and about 25 residents from the three districts, met in Belleville Monday to listen to a report on a consolidation study done by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance about what the districts could expect if they united.
The study by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance was done with a $10,000 grant the three districts received from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction earlier this year.
No future plans were decided by any of the school boards at the meeting, and no future meeting between the three school boards was set.
The meeting was meant to provide information about the affects of a consolidation.
Monticello superintendent Karen Ballin said her board would discuss the idea but didn't have any specific time as to when it would possibly make a decision.
"I think this will create some interesting discussions in the district," she said.
Ballin said consolidation questions have come up in the districts from time to time.
New Glarus school board member Larry Stuessy said his district isn't looking to consolidate for financial reasons. He said the district might consider the option if it were shown that a unified school district would offer students more educational opportunities.
Belleville superintendent Randy Freese said his district was interested in what it would mean financially to consolidate. He said it was something the school board wanted to examine.
He said the district already has co-ops with Albany and with New Glarus for sports teams.
Monticello and New Glarus co-op for football.
Todd Berry, from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, said many school districts across the state have faced difficult times due to declining enrollment. Districts have had to make cuts in curriculum and extra curricular programs, he said. The optimum number of students in a school district is between 2,000 and 2,500 because those districts provide a solid curriculum and extra curricular activities for students, he added.
The Monticello district, according to the study, expects to have a declining enrollment over the next seven years, from 411 students to 390 students. New Glarus' enrollment is expected to grow from 831 students to 856 students, and Belleville's enrollment is expected to grow from 980 to 1,032 over the same time period.
Berry said the districts would benefit financially if they consolidate. The three school districts could receive up to $12.1 million from state aid over the next five years because the 2009-11 state budget provides funds for districts that consolidate. The money provided by the state is above the regular state aid given to school districts. Berry said it's unlikely the funding from the state would be withdrawn over the next few years.
The extra money could be used for an endowment to help raise money for the district through investments; some of the money could be spent to reduce property taxes or for new buildings; or the district could spend all of it for new programs and new buildings.
Another financial advantage to consolidation would be a reduction in tax rates for Monticello, which has a rate of $10.28 per $1,000 of assessed property value for the 2009-10 school year, and New Glarus, which has a tax rate of $10.12 for this year. Belleville taxpayers would see an increase in their rates of $8.54 for the 2009-10 school year.
While the three school boards learned some of the financial benefits for consolidation, some of the challenges were brought up but not discussed. Members of all three boards said there is more research to be done before consolidation could become a reality.
For example, with a larger school district, union contracts would have to be negotiated, Freese said. He said employees would compare their wages with larger districts and expect to be paid similar salaries and have similar benefits.
"It would be something the board would have to deal with," he said. "The bottom line is that we're going to have to pay people more money."
The boards would also have to decide who would make up the new board and who would serve as superintendent of a joint district.
One idea was to have a board made up of nine people, with three members from each district. That's something the districts would have to decide, Berry told the board members.
The boards would also have to look at busing issues. Students are allowed to be on a school bus for up to two hours a day. A larger school district might mean students would be on the bus for longer periods.
No answer was given if a centrally located school would have to be built for high school students. Each school district would probably keep its elementary schools and possibly middle schools.
"We'd have to start from scratch," Freese said. "There are challenges to this."
The three school boards, and about 25 residents from the three districts, met in Belleville Monday to listen to a report on a consolidation study done by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance about what the districts could expect if they united.
The study by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance was done with a $10,000 grant the three districts received from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction earlier this year.
No future plans were decided by any of the school boards at the meeting, and no future meeting between the three school boards was set.
The meeting was meant to provide information about the affects of a consolidation.
Monticello superintendent Karen Ballin said her board would discuss the idea but didn't have any specific time as to when it would possibly make a decision.
"I think this will create some interesting discussions in the district," she said.
Ballin said consolidation questions have come up in the districts from time to time.
New Glarus school board member Larry Stuessy said his district isn't looking to consolidate for financial reasons. He said the district might consider the option if it were shown that a unified school district would offer students more educational opportunities.
Belleville superintendent Randy Freese said his district was interested in what it would mean financially to consolidate. He said it was something the school board wanted to examine.
He said the district already has co-ops with Albany and with New Glarus for sports teams.
Monticello and New Glarus co-op for football.
Todd Berry, from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, said many school districts across the state have faced difficult times due to declining enrollment. Districts have had to make cuts in curriculum and extra curricular programs, he said. The optimum number of students in a school district is between 2,000 and 2,500 because those districts provide a solid curriculum and extra curricular activities for students, he added.
The Monticello district, according to the study, expects to have a declining enrollment over the next seven years, from 411 students to 390 students. New Glarus' enrollment is expected to grow from 831 students to 856 students, and Belleville's enrollment is expected to grow from 980 to 1,032 over the same time period.
Berry said the districts would benefit financially if they consolidate. The three school districts could receive up to $12.1 million from state aid over the next five years because the 2009-11 state budget provides funds for districts that consolidate. The money provided by the state is above the regular state aid given to school districts. Berry said it's unlikely the funding from the state would be withdrawn over the next few years.
The extra money could be used for an endowment to help raise money for the district through investments; some of the money could be spent to reduce property taxes or for new buildings; or the district could spend all of it for new programs and new buildings.
Another financial advantage to consolidation would be a reduction in tax rates for Monticello, which has a rate of $10.28 per $1,000 of assessed property value for the 2009-10 school year, and New Glarus, which has a tax rate of $10.12 for this year. Belleville taxpayers would see an increase in their rates of $8.54 for the 2009-10 school year.
While the three school boards learned some of the financial benefits for consolidation, some of the challenges were brought up but not discussed. Members of all three boards said there is more research to be done before consolidation could become a reality.
For example, with a larger school district, union contracts would have to be negotiated, Freese said. He said employees would compare their wages with larger districts and expect to be paid similar salaries and have similar benefits.
"It would be something the board would have to deal with," he said. "The bottom line is that we're going to have to pay people more money."
The boards would also have to decide who would make up the new board and who would serve as superintendent of a joint district.
One idea was to have a board made up of nine people, with three members from each district. That's something the districts would have to decide, Berry told the board members.
The boards would also have to look at busing issues. Students are allowed to be on a school bus for up to two hours a day. A larger school district might mean students would be on the bus for longer periods.
No answer was given if a centrally located school would have to be built for high school students. Each school district would probably keep its elementary schools and possibly middle schools.
"We'd have to start from scratch," Freese said. "There are challenges to this."