Stillwater Area School District Holds Focus Groups About Fall Levy Questions

Budget reductions are imminent for the Stillwater Area Public School District, but the amount the district will need to cut depends on how residents vote this fall.

The district will be of between $8 million and $10 million by the end of next school year. To solve the problem, board members are considering a request for additional funding from the community, while also planning to make budget cuts.

A series of focus group meetings are being held with a sample of residents representing all communities and stakeholder groups within the district. During the focus groups, board members are gathering information to help them make decisions regarding the amount of money to request. Board members are also asking residents to share their advice for the district as it faces continued financial challenges into the future.

The school board is expected to make a decision regarding a fall referendum in July or August. The district is accepting comments and ideas online. 

Options:

Board members are considering several options to revoke an existing operating levy and replace it with a new levy, including:

* Revoke the current operating levy (at $964 per student) and replace it with a new operating levy to the state maximum levy cap (which would provide $1,576 per student). The District would also reduce expenditures by $2 to $4 million.

* Revoke the current operating levy and replace it with a new operating levy somewhere below the state maximum levy cap, and make up the difference with budget reductions.

* Multiple question option 

A new levy at a high amount would allow the district to begin implementing some of the initiatives of the Vision 2014 strategic plan. 

Additional ballot questions:

In addition to a new operating levy, school board members are also considering two additional questions (three in all) for the ballot this fall.

* Funding for technology question: May appear on the ballot that would provide $1 million per year for technology. The technology levy would provide a sustainable source of funding over 10 years, and would ensure that all students had access to the same technology regardless of which elementary or junior high school they attend.

With this funding the district could provide more technology for students, such as tablets, iPods and laptops.

* Renovate and add science classrooms: The final ballot question would provide funding to address concerns with the district’s current science facilities. The $18.1 million bond would renovate existing science labs at the two schools, as well as add additional lab space. In addition, a specialized STEM lab would be constructed in each building. The bond referendum would also provide funding to improve air quality and ventilation at six district schools.

Science labs at the high school and at Oak-Land Junior High are undersized and outdated, school officials say, becoming a safety concern with too many students crowded into undersized classrooms.