REEDSBURG — It appears the Reedsburg School District's general fund will be safe next year despite shrinking state aid. However, balancing next year's budget has come at a steep price, according to Pat Ruddy, district business manager.

"We have prepared a balanced budget," he said at the finance committee meeting June 23. "We have made significant cuts."

In addition to $620,000 in cuts made by the school board in April, another $450,000 needs to be chopped to balance the budget based on the proposed state budget that will cut aid to schools.

Ruddy and Tom Benson, district administrator, have emphasized the importance of operating at a balanced budget due to a fund balance they have characterized as dangerously low.

After considering the closure of a single-track elementary school in the district to make up the $450,000 difference, administration and the board decided to find another way to cut expenses in the 2009-10 school year. Although many of the details about how they plan to do so have not been released to the public, there will be a reduction in support staff and building maintenance before schools reopen in fall, Ruddy said.

Budget Recap

The preliminary budget for 2009-10 passed unanimously at a special meeting of the school board June 23.

The budget reflects revenues and expenditures in the amount of $26,301,102. This is only a 0.16 percent increase over the 2008-09 budget of $26,260,345. The small increase can be attributed mostly to state decisions, Ruddy said while pointing south toward Madison.

Salaries and fringe benefits for professional staff make up nearly 84 percent of the entire budget. Ruddy said this is fairly typical of school districts and believes it is a good thing. "We pay people to serve people," he said.

Tax Ramifications

The tax revenue limit mandated by the state will continue to control local tax levies, but Reedsburg taxpayers can expect to see a larger-than-normal increase from the district this year. Because state aid will be considerably less this year, Ruddy anticipated a local tax levy increase of 12.7 percent, the largest such increase in the last 25 years. The mill rate will balloon to $8.89 per $1,000 of assessed property value, up from $8.19 last year.

When it came to being sure about how much state aid the district will receive, what enrollment will be, or how much taxes will increase next year, Ruddy was sure of only thing at this point: "The one thing that I guarantee is that the numbers will change," he said.