Riverview School Board Considers Budget with 0.736-Mill Tax Hike

Riverview School District officials continue to hash out budget details before passing a final budget later this month.

At a special budget hearing on Monday, officials discussed a $17.1 million budget that includes a 0.736-mill tax hike. With the proposed tax increase, the owner of a $100,000 home would pay about $73 more in school taxes next school year.

The current millage rate is 24.05. Riverview has raised taxes every year for the last several years, except for the 2008-09 school year in which taxes were decreased by 0.25 mills.

District business manager Frank Thompson said the budget current reflects a deficit of about $30,000.

Since the time the district passed a preliminary budget in February, he said taxable real estate values have increased, generating about $17,000 more in revenue.

However, Thompson said the district lost $15,000 in state Title I revenue—the district already had lost $450,000 in state subsidy—healthcare benefits increased, costs for student transportation to other schools increased and students needing English as a Second Language services increased.

About six students will be required to utilize the ESL services, costing the district $100,000.

"It was only $35,000 for us this year," Thompson said. "The number increased dramatically."

Thompson said the district is trying to partner with neighboring districts to minimize transportation costs for children who attend schools outside the district.

The current budget does not reflect any teacher furloughs, but two-thirds of a French teacher for the high school and an extra fifth grade teacher for Verner Elementary have been added.

Verner Elementary School principal Jason Shoaf said there currently are 27 students in only one section of fifth grade. He said it's a distracting situation for teachers and students, and he doesn't want students to be short-changed in their education because they aren't getting the needed attention.

The need for kindergarten teachers currently is up in the air, said district Superintendent Charles Erdeljac. He said officials currently are looking into enrollment figures.

At this time, there are 39 kindergarteners enrolled at Tenth Street Elementary School and 26 at Verner. Erdeljac said those numbers typically increase during the summer months.

Tenth Street offers three kindergarten session and Verner offers two. Enrollment numbers at the end of the summer will determine how many sessions will be needed at each school.

"We need to maintain those positions in the budget because history tells us that there will be more children coming in," Erdeljac said. "That's the only rational basis that we have to go on."

Officials also are hoping to receive about $150,000 to $200,000 in basic education subsidy and accountability block grant money if a bill in the state Legislature that would restore funding to districts is passed.

Erdeljac suggested that if the district receives that money, officials should allocate $30,000 toward the deficit, $50,000 toward the Riverside Park renovation project and $70,000 toward technology—$68,000 previously had been stripped from the technology budget.

School board member John Hackworth said if the district does receive extra funds, it doesn't mean officials should spend it.

"If we get $100,000 more from the state, I do not want to see us—just because there seems to be more money—believing that it has to be spent," he said. "If we have a surplus at the end of next year, that could be beneficial to us in meeting the financial challenges of upcoming years."

Officials will continue to discuss the budget at the board's June 13 study session meeting and the June 27 regular board meeting, in which the board is expected to vote on a final budget. The meetings will be held at 7 p.m. at the central administration office on Tenth Street and the Riverview Junior-Senior High School library, respectively.