MONROE - A high school math position and two other positions in the Monroe school district will be left vacant for the 2015-16 school year as a way to save money.
"None of these were unnecessary positions, none of those were cuts that anybody really wanted to make, or felt were good decisions to make, but I guess I give our administrators credit that they were cognizant of those budget concerns and that they were willing to make those concessions," said Ron Olson, the district's business manager.
Olson presented the first version of the 2015-16 budget to the school board Monday. It will undergo changes throughout the summer until the final version is approved at the district's annual meeting in October.
A Monroe Middle School special education position and a Parkside Elementary aide position will also be left open. All three positions are vacant because of staff resignations or retirements.
As a result of losing a math teacher, some class sizes will increase, said MHS Principal Chris Medenwaldt. Classes such as algebra and geometry that currently range from about 19 to 21 students will likely jump to 24 to 28.
Olson said he expects the levy to decrease this fall from last year, but "it's too early to say what that's going to be."
His largest concern with the budget is with 4K enrollment, which has been lagging this spring. It could be a "recession bump," he said, from people opting to not have kids during the recession in 2008 and on.
"If we have smaller numbers, that obviously impacts our revenue limit," since the restriction in revenue takes student numbers into account.
A drop in enrollment wouldn't affect the district much the first year because of an exemption, but it would become a concern next year.
For the 2015-16 school year, Olson said he hopes to see 160 students coming into 4K. That would be a drop of about 20 students from previous years, as enrollment has been about 180 students for the last seven or eight years "like clockwork," he said.
The board approved the temporary operating budget with total expenditures of about $28.3 million, down by 1.8 percent from last year's $28.8 million. Olson projected a deficit of slightly more than $1 million.
"We made a lot of strides from where we were in March," Olson said. Since then, the district postponed the project to resurface the MHS track, cut summer custodial positions and saved money in insurance costs.
"We knew we were going to be looking at a referendum anyhow, but we could have been in a better position certainly for this year ... if we were actually allowed to have some revenue limit growth," Olson said. "And hopefully they will hear that at the state level, but I don't have much optimism. But there's still hope. The process isn't over yet."
"None of these were unnecessary positions, none of those were cuts that anybody really wanted to make, or felt were good decisions to make, but I guess I give our administrators credit that they were cognizant of those budget concerns and that they were willing to make those concessions," said Ron Olson, the district's business manager.
Olson presented the first version of the 2015-16 budget to the school board Monday. It will undergo changes throughout the summer until the final version is approved at the district's annual meeting in October.
A Monroe Middle School special education position and a Parkside Elementary aide position will also be left open. All three positions are vacant because of staff resignations or retirements.
As a result of losing a math teacher, some class sizes will increase, said MHS Principal Chris Medenwaldt. Classes such as algebra and geometry that currently range from about 19 to 21 students will likely jump to 24 to 28.
Olson said he expects the levy to decrease this fall from last year, but "it's too early to say what that's going to be."
His largest concern with the budget is with 4K enrollment, which has been lagging this spring. It could be a "recession bump," he said, from people opting to not have kids during the recession in 2008 and on.
"If we have smaller numbers, that obviously impacts our revenue limit," since the restriction in revenue takes student numbers into account.
A drop in enrollment wouldn't affect the district much the first year because of an exemption, but it would become a concern next year.
For the 2015-16 school year, Olson said he hopes to see 160 students coming into 4K. That would be a drop of about 20 students from previous years, as enrollment has been about 180 students for the last seven or eight years "like clockwork," he said.
The board approved the temporary operating budget with total expenditures of about $28.3 million, down by 1.8 percent from last year's $28.8 million. Olson projected a deficit of slightly more than $1 million.
"We made a lot of strides from where we were in March," Olson said. Since then, the district postponed the project to resurface the MHS track, cut summer custodial positions and saved money in insurance costs.
"We knew we were going to be looking at a referendum anyhow, but we could have been in a better position certainly for this year ... if we were actually allowed to have some revenue limit growth," Olson said. "And hopefully they will hear that at the state level, but I don't have much optimism. But there's still hope. The process isn't over yet."