Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE - Attendees at Tuesday's Wawasee School Board meeting were educated on the ins and outs of school funding, especially in how funding is affected by local property taxes and the recent reassessment.
Dr. Mark Stock, superintendent, made a presentation called "Property taxes and reassessment, sorting out fact from fiction."
The 15-minute presentation focused on one main point: Wawasee Schools receive no more funding now than in years past, despite an increase in local taxes, Stock said. More of the burden to fund schools now rests on citizens. That burden translates to higher taxes, but the increase in local tax monies only compensates for a decrease in state funds, at best allowing school funding to remain steady.
Bar graphs presented by Stock show that since 1997, the local tax burden has steadily increased and more and more of school funding is supported by the community. Meanwhile, state funding has dwindled.
"Ten years ago about 60 percent of our funding was from the state and 40 percent from local patrons," Stock estimated. "It's gone to 50-50 and now it's headed the other way."
The presentation also broke down the school's funding. The general fund, according to Stock, "the primary fund that schools have to worry about," holds an amount set by the state, based on a formula. The amount in a school's general fund is affected by student enrollment and at-risk, non-English speaking and special education students. Nearly 90 percent of this money goes toward salaries and benefits.
As determined by the state funding formula, Wawasee receives $5,684.37 in funding per student, Stock said. The state average is $5,948.70 and the highest funded school receives more than $14,000 per pupil. The difference between what Wawasee receives and the state average amounts to nearly $900,000 per year.
In other business:
• The board approved a 2.5 increase in certified employees' wages and a 1 percent cash stipend. Classified employees will receive a $250 cash stipend.
Board members noted the wage increase was possible due to last year's many retirees and resignations.
Negotiations regarding health savings accounts are ongoing.
• Middle School Principal Tony Cassel reported on the school's mentoring program. The program partners students with community members and is said to be successful.
Right now, there are 18 active mentor/mentoree matches and four mentors are waiting to be paired with students. The school is assessing other students who may be in need of a mentor.
A Dekko grant currently funds the program but Cassel says he hopes to find a way to sustain it after the grant runs out.
Not only are the students benefiting from the program, but the adult mentors are as well, Cassel said.
"They come in rushed and in a hurry, just coming from work, and they leave rejuvenated," Cassel said. In the students there is a "positive increase in GPAs and attendance."
Wawasee School Board members are President Dallas Winchester, Vice President Mary Lou Dixon, Secretary Marion Acton, Brian Dawes and George Gilbert.
