EDMOND — Against a backdrop of increasing budget cuts, Edmond School officials met with lawmakers Thursday to discuss legislative issues and ways to more equitably distribute available education monies.
Rep. Ken Miller, chairman of the House budget committee, Rep. Marian Cooksey and Sen. Clark Jolley were on hand as Superintendent David Goin addressed items of interest to the school district.
School officials spoke about a previously state-mandated $3,000 raise for teachers. A line item when it was first passed, later it was put through the funding formula, causing the district to lose hundreds of dollars for each teacher, Goin said.
“When it is a line item we receive our share,” Goin said, “and when funneled through the general fund we lose it and other districts gain. As long as there are winners and losers in the formula funding, we consider Edmond losers,” Goin said.
He also asked the lottery be set aside and distributed on a per-pupil basis instead of being lumped into general revenue.
Goin voiced the board’s request that a simple majority vote for passage on school district bond elections be considered rather than the 60 percent majority now in place.
When pointing out the local chargeable rate for state aid, Goin said, “When all is said and done we grew $3.8 million locally, but dollar for dollar that growth was charged against our state aid.”
Miller told Goin and board members, “Your own success is hurting you, because you do such a great job it is difficult to garner sympathy for the Edmond Public Schools at the Legislature.”
He added everyone is working in bipartisanship as they look for a good framework of what to do over the next three years.
“By the end of January we will have agreed on a budget for 2010-11,” Miller said. “I would plan on a minimum of a 10 percent cut across the board for 2010.”
Miller said a global economic recession and energy prices have helped contribute to the financial shortages.
Jolley added a number of wells have been shut down, lowering production and causing income tax collections to be down significantly.
“We received mid-term allocation notices that all state agencies have a 5 percent cut, but through the funding formula our cuts turned out to be 7.1 percent,” Chief Financial Officer David Fraser said.
He added the $12 million balance on hand when the year began will not last as long as originally expected.
“With the announcement of shortfalls, now I think we are looking at 10 percent for the rest of the year and then 10 percent will be 14 percent,” Fraser said. “The message we received yesterday was more than 15 percent, that is an additional 15 percent.”
He added the district is looking at a very low fund balance for the 2011 school year, and the district needed a healthy fund balance to manage the first six months of the 2012 school year.
“The numbers are challenging and are not going to get better,” Miller said. “We have to take a three-fiscal-year look. We have to remember 2011 and 2012 are looming.”
With cash resources for 2010 and 2011, the biggest problem will be 2012.
“In 2012 all monies will be gone, and we have to hope revenues return to fill that gap,” Miller said. “We have to plan for the worst and hope for the best and do the best we can to help grow the economy.”
Miller added the Legislature needs to refocus on what the government can and should do, and taking care of education is one of those things it must do.
The Details
Edmond Public Schools topics:
Modification and equitable distribution of monies provided for legislated mandates.
Distribution of lottery proceeds.
Requirement of a simple majority vote for passage of district bond elections.
Funding of common education to sustain current revenue sources.
Reduction of local growth chargeable against state aid for districts that fall below the state average of pupil funding.
pmiller@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 171
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