Hurley K-12 School budget approved

By TOM LAVENTURE

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Hurley — The Hurley K-12 School District Board unanimously approved its 2020-21 budget following a hearing and annual meeting on Monday.

The board approved a general fund amount of $2,774,576. The board then approved the total funds budget of $8,214,112, which includes debt service, capital projects food service and interfund transfers.

Declining enrollment and increasing property values make Hurley look like a rich school district, said School District Administrator Kevin Genisot. There is a 7% decrease in tertiary aid from the state Department of Public Instruction as a result.

The per-pupil formula negatively impacts Hurley with an increasing property valuation and declining enrolment, he said. The $696,798 in per-pupil aid for Hurley is higher than the state tertiary aid standard of $656,000 and results in a deduction from secondary aid funding.

If the school district were in a positive tertiary district the school would gain in funding, Genisot said.

In the 2010-11 school year the state aid amount was $3,169,193 with a student enrollment of 647. There was a $3,506,841 property tax from 9.56 mills on a $366,634,100 school district valuation.

For the 2019-20 school year the state aid totaled $2,689,110 with a student enrollment of 546. There was a $2,689,110 property tax levy from 7.68 mills on a $380,356,515 school district valuation.

The projected 2020-21 school budget is currently $2,892,578 with a student enrollment of 500. There is expected to be $2,774,576 in property tax from 7.24 mills on a $382,985,135 school district valuation.

The student enrollment is listed at both 497 and 500 which is the outcome of different formulas that calculate the full time equivalent students.

“Each formula comprises the numbers in a different fashion and sometimes the full time equivalent can be off by five or six students,” Genisot said.

The current 497 daily enrollment includes 18 in pre-kindergarten; 28 kindergartners; 22 in 1st grade; 30 in 2nd grade; 29 in 3rd grade; 30 in 4th grade; 43 in 5th grade; 40 in 6th grade; 46 in 7th grade; 38 in 8th grade; 49 in 9th grade; 42 in 10th grade; 45 in 11th grade, and 37 in 12th grade.

When a class grade drops to 28 or 29 students the administration may recommend combining the two sections (teacher and classroom) into one section, he said. This will not be the case with the early primary grades but the third and fourth grade enrolment will be considered if enrolment continues to drop.

“We will be keeping a watchful eye on those numbers and coming up with a recommendation this spring,” Genisot said.

The projected pre-kindergarten enrollment for 2021-22 is 24 new students; 23 for 2022-23, and 19 in 2023-24. There are more students graduating each year than are coming into the system.

There are unexpected increases now and then but the reasonable assumption is that school enrollment will dip into the 300s within four years, he said. 

“We are going to anticipate losing 20 to 30 students per year,” Genisot said. “Unless something happens to bring more people into the area such as new business or industry.”

The 10 school district communities include Anderson, Carey, Gurney, Kimball, Knight, Oma, Pence, Saxon, Hurley and Montreal. The community with the highest valuation is Oma with an equalized value of $116,843,035.

The lowest valuation is Gurney with $15,611,600. Hurley is $56,708,400.

The building and grounds are in good shape and the only major anticipated project is the roof that is expected to need replacement within the next 10 years, Genisot said.

The community service Fund 80 amount of $24,550 is used to run the summer school and kids club after school programs. The amount was reduced to $24,550 from $49,000 as the programming has not been operating during the pandemic shutdown and is not anticipated to start until January.