Fox Point-Bayside building budget from ground up

Fox Point - With a 2011-12 budget freshly minted, Fox Point-Bayside school officials are in the process of piecing together the district's 2012-13 budget.

Based on preliminary information, officials anticipate taking in less revenue in the upcoming school year, due in part to a reduction in revenue limit authority - the amount the district is permitted to tax to residents living within the district's boundaries in Bayside and Fox Point. Amy Kohl, director of business services, reported at a School Board meeting Monday that she projects the revenue limit figure decreasing $102,000.

"(The amount) is significantly more positive than previous projections," Kohl said. "While this will impact the district, administration anticipates that this reduction will be absorbed by the reduction in WRS (Wisconsin Retirement System) expense contributions, increased efficiencies and cost management in order to provide quality educational programming for our students."

Revenue limit decreases are not foreign to Fox Point-Bayside. This school year, Kohl said the revenue limit was decreased $554,642. Part of the loss was covered by shifting $94,000 in reserve dollars in the fund balance.

"This will be the fourth consecutive year the district will utilize fund balance to cover shortfalls," Kohl said. "This is not a wise or sustainable practice."

Moving forward, Kohl and other administrators are proposing a zero-based strategy that would entail building a year's budget from the ground up. The process involves prioritizing budgetary needs and reviewing them through the scope of district goals.

Kohl said she and other administrators are reviewing what is taking place at the state level to get a handle of what, if any, changes will impact Fox Point-Bayside moving forward.

As part of the preliminary 2012-13 budget building process, the board on Monday approved several policies.

Class size limits have been set, which is a pivotal part of determining staffing levels in the upcoming school year. The board approved a 16-student limit in 4-year-old kindergarten, 18 students in 5-year-old kindergarten to grade one, 19 students in second grade, 20 students in grades three and four and 21 students in grades five to eight.

Board approval was in contrast to administrators' recommendations, which called for 16 students in 4-year-old kindergarten, 19 students in 5-year-old kindergarten and grade one, 20 students in grades two to four, 21 students in grades five and six, 22 students in grade seven and 24 students in the eighth grade.

District Administrator Rachel Boechler said the class size limit is an important part of determining Open Enrollment seating for out-of-district students in the 2012-13 school year. She recommended 21 additional Open Enrollment seats be made available. As proposed, six seats would be opened in grade one, two in grade four, eight in grade six and five in grade seven.

"This will allow us to maintain reasonable and balanced class sizes while using our resources as efficiently as possible," Boechler said.