Last winter, the Annandale School District expected to spend $950,000 more than it took in this year thanks to no expected increase from the state and a projected drop in enrollment. On Monday, Sept. 21, when the school board met for its monthly meeting, members saw a much brighter picture. A large kindergarten class this fall combined with nearly a half-million dollars worth of cuts the board made in February and March has cut the projected deficit to $154,719. The remaining deficit will be covered by reserves in the general fund. "This positions us well for anticipated shortfalls in the state in the next year or two," Supt. Steve Niklaus said. The school board’s policy is to try to keep up to 11/2 months worth of operating expenses in the general fund balance. The fund balance now exceeds that amount by $250,000. "We hope this will allow us to not reduce programming in the next year or two," he said. A big help was an additional $267,909 gained by the addition of 30 more students than the district planned for. Each June officials compose a tentative budget before the school year starts based on estimates and past experience. In the last few years the kindergarten class has had about 110 students, so that was the amount budgeted for, Niklaus said. With the loss of 150 students to graduation that spring, they were looking at a smaller overall population, which meant less state aid. But this fall’s kindergarten class exceeded their expectations when 133 students enrolled. That is 24 more than last year’s class. There were also small gains in almost every other grade over the year before thanks to open enrollment and families moving into the district. The numbers have also gone up in the preschool programs, which hints that kindergarten classes will remain in the 120 to 130s. "This year’s kindergarten is a sign that hopefully we’ve bottomed out in enrollment loss," Niklaus said. But while the future is looking brighter, the school district will have at least three more years of smaller populations to endure as larger classes graduate than start as kindergartners. "Our largest high school classes are still in high school and graduating," Niklaus said. And since high school students earn the district a third more money from the state than elementary students, there will still be some loss in aid. "Our goal is to not make any more cuts to programs or positions because of the increase in enrollment and the school board’s willingness to spend reserves," Niklaus said. – The school board also approved the annual tax levy at the September meeting. Overall, taxpayers will see a 20 percent decrease in their school taxes next spring as the bond issue for the high school is paid off. Taxpayers will be notified in November and invited to attend a Truth in Taxation hearing in December. They will make their first payment in May. "Twenty percent is a significant decline," Niklaus said. "I’m not sure that taxpayers will see that on the bottom line because all other entities are increasing, but on the school portion they will definitely see a decline." The annual levy also provides the district with operating capital, funds for health and safety, deferred maintenance, Alterna-tive Teacher Compensation and other funding.
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