(Dodgeland) The Dodgeland School District is needing to make budget reductions following the failed referendum this spring. The district had sought to exceed its revenue limit by $1.4-million-dollars annually for five years but was voted down by taxpayers.
Since then, Dodgeland officials say they have had to make difficult decisions to reduce staffing and operations to try and close the gap in their budget deficit. They note that due to the inadequate state school funding formula and the failed referendum, the district is facing a budget shortall of over $1.1-million-dollars for the next school year.
During this week’s meeting, the school board approved several reductions to decrease the budget deficit to roughly $408-thousand-dollars. Per the Dodgeland School District Facebook page, the following is a list of reductions made:
Staffing:
Certified staff positions (non-renewal by reduction in force and reduction by attrition of 3 certified staff members) to total a reduction of $237,373.
Enter into shared agreements with Hustisford School District for the positions of: Tech Ed, Elementary Art, and Agriculture. This will be an estimated savings of $68,642.90.
Reduce support staff by 2.5 positions and contract with a nurse 1 day a week, at an estimated reduction of $114,642: Two bilingual paraprofessional positions have been eliminated. (We will have a certified teacher serving as a Multilingual Learners Coordinator to support students and teachers) The .5 support staff position is kindergarten paraprofessional
Due to staffing reductions, several teachers will move to different positions in the district.
Additional Reductions:
Eliminate Juneau Bus route ($53,000)
Eliminate 4K Bus route ($40,000)
Eliminate CESA 6 Contract for Autism Evals/SEL Consultation ($24,390)
Eliminate elementary field trips ($3,000) *Can be fundraised for.
Eliminate MS Wrestling ($3,059) Reduce the Athletic budget by an additional $46,941 (total of $50,000 including MS Wrestling)
The following extracurricular activities will no longer be funded by the District (including advisor stipend). If someone wants to volunteer to lead them/fundraise, they could continue as an organization:
Eliminate MS/HS Robotics ($4,596)
Eliminate MS Forensics ($3,484)
Eliminate MS Academic Pentathlon ($400)
Additional Decisions to consider in May:
Increases to meals and school fees
Revisions to the school calendar to reduce the number of school days to save on transportation costs.
They add that despite these reductions, the district continues to have a budget shortall of $695-thousand-dollars.
The district will also need to begin the process of finding a new administrator. The school board approved Jessica Johnson’s resignation. Her last day is June 30th.
