BROOKINGS – As the Brookings School District looks ahead to presenting to the school board its budget for the upcoming school year, Superintendent Klint Willert led a public session about the proposed budget as it stands, explaining district priorities and plans for new expenses and cuts.

The district has a budget deficit this year, but a student population increase and targeted reductions for next year will help make up the difference.

The process of crafting a school district budget is a collaborative one, Willert emphasized this week, with input from school administration advisory teams to create a balanced budget that would address needs in the short term and long term.

There were several challenges they faced as they worked on creating the proposed budget, namely that revenues are tight and won't allow for every want, forcing tough decisions in some cases.

“We know that's typically the case in public schools because we service over 3,000 students' needs,” Willert said.

The school district's current deficit also was a factor as it looked ahead. The district is now projecting a $746,000 deficit for this school year, and changes in the state aid formula mean there will be only a 0.3 percent increase in new state aid, “a significant departure from what we initially thought it would be,” Willert said.

One of the things district officials wanted to accomplish was more equity among the buildings, especially among the three elementary schools. They also sought to keep class sizes manageable and within their means, and to look at professional development opportunities for staff.

With a $740,000 deficit, how can the district consider adding any expenses to the budget?

“We are a growing and dynamic organization; we are not static. We have to be responsive to the changes and the trends and needs of our students,” Willert explained. “That is why we are looking at some very targeted additions. Also be mindful of what's going on with our student growth. We want to be planful in what we're doing to prepare for that.”

Incoming revenue helps ease the burden. An additional 0.3 percent in state aid amounts to only $55,000, but with 50 more students projected to enroll in the next school year, they plan on approximately $274,000 in new revenue there.

In addition to a few other revenue sources, Willert said there are plans to increase the price of activity passes by $5. It's not about “preventing people from showing their Bobcat pride, but understanding that if everyone does a little, it all makes a big difference in the end.”

At the moment, activity passes are $75 for an adult, $45 for a senior, and dual activity passes for a household are $130.

All told, the district outlined $331,300 in new expenses for the next school year.

One of the major expenses proposed is geared toward equalizing Encore staff throughout the schools.

“Our Encore staff are those positions in art, technology, physical education, and we have that with our counseling services, but we don't necessarily have that right now with those areas,” Willert explained. “We have a number of people who are traveling from building to building.”

With a $99,500 price tag, the district would make all Encore staff full time at Medary and Dakota Prairie, and it would add a 0.6 FTE (full-time equivalent) at Hillcrest.

Then there are plans to add a seventh- and an eighth-grade reading teacher ($55,000 each) and a pair of middle school teachers (one for $44,500, who does not fully utilize benefits, the other for $55,000).

They also want to increase high school choir support by 0.4 FTE for $21,000.

A fairly low-cost item that will help increase efficiency is moving to a web-based application platform for new hires.

“Before, we used to have a paper copy that people would longhand fill out,” Willert said. “This becomes a complete web-based solution.”

That should cost $1,300.

To compensate for those additions, the district listed $515,422 in reductions and adjustments in order to balance out the budget.

A lot was accomplished through reassigning positions and careful staff reductions.

For example: reassigning a teacher to Title 1 programming (anticipated savings of $76,735), replacing an Active Learning Classroom teacher and assistant with a behavior tech equivalent ($44,500 saved), reducing the number of playground aides and supervisors ($33,750) and eliminating a middle school in-school suspension supervisor position created last year ($36,000).

There will be one less kindergarten teacher due to less student enrollment than was anticipated, saving $43,000.

“Current enrollment doesn't indicate that we're going to need it; however, we have seen trends over time that indicate we may have to add that position back in,” Willert said.

Substitute teacher pay would be reduced from $211 a day to $185 a day to save $4,000.

“It's still a fair compensation in relation to our neighboring districts around us, but it's also still being prudent and fiscally responsible in our estimations with the dollars we have available,” Willert said.

Then there's a cut in building supplies by 2 percent and custodial supplies by 1 percent to reach an expected savings of $15,655.

With those new expenses, proposed cuts and anticipated revenue, the school would have a deficit of $3,263, leaving the district in a good place for the short term and long term, Willert said.

“When you look at the fact that our (additional expenses) are less than our budgeted adjustments, it tells us that we are making a meaningful impact on the structural deficit that we have.”

Contact Eric Sandbulte at esandbulte@brookingsregister.com.