The Warsaw School District has a plan to balance its budget for the first time in years, but it requires plenty of help from the community.
Superintendent Bob Gound said the district is in a "very poor" financial situation primarily because of ongoing cuts in state aid.
"Our expenditures have actually stayed very steady," said Gound. "(They've) even decreased, but the revenue that we receive from the state has decreased drastically. As a result, we have had a deficit spending pattern over the last 3-to-4 years in the neighborhood of $500,000-to-$600,000 per year."
Gound said the district has spent down its reserves to get by, but those funds are quickly drying up. He said the district cannot cut its way out of its financial struggles either.
"In a district our size with a budget our size, there is no way for us to reduce our expenditures by that amount and still maintain a quality education for the children of our community," said Gound.
Gound said there is a plan in place to address the deficit, but it could be hard for some to embrace.
The Warsaw School Board is asking to increase the district's property tax levy by roughly $225,000 for next year, which is an 18% increase.
It will also ask residents to increase the education fund tax rate by $1, which is a nearly 55% increase, in an effort to generate an extra $300,000 annually. The referendum will appear on the April ballot.
Gound said these revenue boosts will be coupled with about $500,000 in cuts over the next three years, starting with $275,000 next year.
"Now that won’t all be salaries," said Gound. "It won’t all be the elimination of teaching or support staff positions, but I am sure it will include some reductions in personnel.”
Gound said all these components, when working together, will help the district balance its budget.
He said the school board plans to hold public meetings to explain the budget situation and the plan to balance it so residents know exactly what is going on.
