by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
Whether or not the Garretson School District implements an opt out for next year rests in the hands of the voters, an election that will be held on March 21.
To help voters understand why the school is requesting to opt out from property tax limits, the school held an informational session followed by a question-and-answer time on Monday. The meeting, which was attended by just over a hundred people, lasted for an hour and a half. And while a portion of the Q&A session was termed a "kumbaya moment" by audience participants as they shared the positives of the school, audience members were not afraid to pose the hard questions to Superintendent Guy Johnson and School Board President Shannon Nordstrom.
Nordstrom opened the meeting acknowledging that it's a decision that's best put to the taxpayers.
"I think the community needs to speak, and they need to decide what they think is in the best interest of the community," he said, pointing out that he wants everyone looking at the long-term future.
"We've got a lot of things going on in the community," he continued, pointing out the expansion of Blue Dragon Academy.
He also acknowledged the downward change in student numbers over the past three years, noting that they (the school board and administration) knew the reasons for that trend, including a higher number of students choosing to homeschool post-Covid.
"There's things we could do, probably, we could skinny up, skinny up, down to a really bony structure... but what can we do to make this a strong school, a healthy school, ready for what's ahead?" He pointed out the influx of young families to the area, the improvements in infrastructure and housing that have been made, and the bright outlook for the community.
Supt. Johnson opened by explaining the four different funds that are operated by the school. Those funds are the Special Education Fund, which pays for special education needs and personnel; the Enterprise Fund, which pays for the food service and preschool; the Capital Outlay Fund, which pays for building repairs and improvements and curriculum; and the General Fund, which pays for staff, teachers, administration, and the on-going daily needs of the school.
Johnson pointed out that it was important to know that the General Fund does support any overages in spending in Enterprise Funds, and up to 45% of Capital Outlay Funds can be transferred to support the General Fund. However, he said, any monies taken from Capital Outlay impacts building repairs and curriculum options.
The opt out, Johnson pointed out, is only for the General Fund, 81.2% of which goes towards salaries. He explained that the levies and the amount of monies given to the school is set each year by the legislature, and is determined by a formula that maintains a strict ratio between ag land, owner-occupied land, and other/commercial land. He stated that when the initial student funding formula came about in 1995, it wasn't designed around the actual needs of the school, but around reducing property taxes. After it was modified in 2016, the formula ended up making most schools appear as though they were over-staffed.
           The pandemic brought in extra federal funding to the school, which paid for classified staff to maintain their positions while the school building was closed and extra sanitation supplies. Those funds also covered staffing to reduce learning loss during the pandemic and increased mental health support, along with new math, phonics, and reading curriculums. The final pieces the funding covered were new furniture for the new programs.
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Johnson then moved into an explanation of the Capital Outlay (CO) Fund, which pays for larger projects, ongoing building maintenance, busses, and curriculum. The recent projects of replacing half the building roof, changing out the heating and cooling system, and changing out the lights to more energy-efficient LEDs was paid for out of the CO Fund. The CO Fund is paid for solely with local funds, and varies significantly among districts. While up to 45% of the CO Fund can be transferred to the General Fund, Johnson said it was not a good idea to rely on it too heavily, as it means those larger needs suffer.
He next explained how the opt out process came to be as a way for the legislature to say there was a mechanism to fund "extra" teachers or programming. Due to the way the ratios of teachers to students were set, 42% of schools in South Dakota had a need to opt out in 2022.
"In schools, programs are people," Johnson said. "It takes people to do the work."
The Garretson School salary average for 2022 was $67,714 when benefits are taken into account, and salary cost increases have outstripped the legislature's formula for funding over the past several years.
"We have to keep up with folks around us as far as competition for teachers," Johnson said. "Salaries increased last year by about $250,000. Aid from the state with respect to funding simply has not kept pace."
Student number trends have not helped, as the "sweet spot" for efficiency is approximately 20-25 students per class, and many of Garretson's grades are currently between 27-34 students. However, Garretson is still in the top third of schools with regards to efficiency. As far as administrative costs go, Johnson stated that GSD, when put in a line with the next 10 largest schools and the next 10 smallest schools, ranks 9th, and spends $58,000 less than the average from all those schools combined.
For the past three years, extra federal funding has padded the school budget and helped pay for those necessary projects and programs listed above, but state law does not allow for a large reserve and required those funds to be spent. This year, the district expects to overspend allotted funds by approximately $600,000, reducing the General Fund to less than $600,000 in reserve.
Supt. Johnson then pointed out what would happen if the opt out passed or didn't pass. If it passed, programming and staffing would be able to remain where it is, and the district could continue to make smaller cuts where possible. If it doesn't pass, staff would have to be reduced, likely by combining the smaller grades into one class of 30-32 students instead of two classes of 16-18 students. He stated clearly, though, that no firm decisions have yet been made as to what positions would be eliminated.
At that time, the floor was opened to the audience.
Dan Steen asked about depreciation schedules for repairs and maintenance, ensuring that funds are set aside each year for those projects, to which Supt. Johnson responded that they were. Steen, along with Neal Albers, were concerned about the substantial increases in property valuations that have impacted pocketbooks over the past few years.
"Have you taken into consideration the extra monies that will be allotted to your school?" Steen asked. Johnson was not able to give a firm answer to that question, but said that in the past, the state has decreased levies when valuations go up.
Nordstrom likened it to a bucket, stating that the bucket of money to the school isn't increasing.
"The formula is driven by the number of students in our district," Johnson said. "There's a certain amount of local money that is generated through our local taxes through the levies the state sets. If we have 30 more students next year, our general lead goes up but our local money stays the same, so the state backfills [our budget] a little more. It's not like they maintain a ratio between state funds, and local funds, and everybody has 30% local money, 60% state money, and 10% federal money. They set the levies across the board, and the number of students determines how much money we get."
Steen also asked about advanced programming options that are offered at the school, such as calculus. Johnson responded that they've had calculus when there's enough interest in it, but that there are now options for higher-level and dual credit courses available through the state's university system that weren't available in 2016. Unfortunately, he lamented, some options, such as a half-time Spanish teacher, has not produced any applicants. The school district does not have enough student interest in that class to fund a full-time teacher, and the teacher-sharing program implemented with Baltic a few years ago fell through when Baltic was able to afford the teacher full-time.
Dale DeBoer asked about the substantial reduction in students that has been seen since 2019.
"I'm still amazed we've lost as many students as we have in the past 3-4 years," he said. He asked if "post-employee"-style surveys were taken from those students who had left.
"We normally know why they've left," Johnson responded.
Nordstrom then stated that of the students who left between last school year and this year, three-quarters had families that moved.
"I know what you're getting at Dale, is there something going on where kids don't want to be here?" Nordstrom said. He said that yes, there were a few students who left because of differences. On the other hand, he said, Garretson gained several students for the same reason.
DeBoer stated that he no longer heard people say that Garretson was a great school district with great athletics, and also reiterated a concern about property taxes going up along with everything else, which is difficult for people on a fixed income.
"You make a valid point, Dale, and nobody wants increased costs," Nordstrom responded. Later in the meeting, he and Johnson acknowledged what they were asking of the community in terms of increasing costs even more.
Nordstrom then spoke about how, when he was on the Commercial Club, he had always felt like Garretson was "one curve too many away from the energy and excitement," referring to the growth that has been seen to the south and west. He expressed his optimism that Garretson "will have its day and we've got to be ready for it."
"We just find ourselves in a district that's just a hard size for the consistencies for the way the state funds the schools," he continued. Referring to the population increase he's sure will happen, "I just want to see us get to that next step."
One attendee asked about the extra programming that was implemented with the additional federal funding, stating that he was hoping the school could continue offering it. Johnson concurred, stating that it has been making a difference for students.
Expressing his concerns of valuations going up, Neal Albers asked if the board had considered the opt out Minnehaha County was going to be incurring for the new juvenile detention center. Nordstrom said they had, but was hopeful the state might step up and provide funds for that so the county wouldn't have to request so much from its residents.
Albers ended by saying he believed Garretson had one of the best districts in the state, and High School guidance counselor Michelle Pliska spoke up to agree. Pliska also pointed out that Garretson does an excellent job of keeping children out of the detention center thanks to its programming and staff. She said the REACH program has also made substantial inroads for students, reducing suicide assessments from one to two a week in past years down to one a month this past year.
"We're saving lives here," she said.
However, not all attendees felt the school has been responsible in spending. One questioned the decisions of renovating the turf field and having so much money sunk into the bus barn, instead of "going back to basics" such as a grass field.
Supt. Johnson pointed out that those were past decisions that had been made by a different administration and a different board, and those were decisions everyone was going to have to live with. In regards to going back to a grass field, it wouldn't likely save significant funds. Taking out the turf would be an expensive endeavor, and it could even impact whether Garretson offers soccer as a sport. As is, the field is used quite extensively throughout the year, and is a point of pride for the community.
"People now, their choices on a school are a lot more fluid," Nordstrom added. He pointed out that families do "shop" schools, and the complex does attract them.
Oran Sorenson asked about open enrollment numbers, and how many students are still living in the district but have enrolled in other schools. Supt. Johnson responded that he didn't have the specific numbers on hand, but said that many of the open enrollments were due to program offerings provided by other schools that Garretson couldn't give.
Sorenson, while critical of the formula given by the state, questioned whether Garretson was "top heavy" when it came to administration. He said that tough questions had to be asked, and Garretson had to find a way to "live within its means."
He pointed out that last spring, a number of taxpayers had requested that the administration contracts not be extended past a year, so the school board could explore this question. He also asked why the school was pursuing an opt out now, when last spring, Nordstrom had stated at a school board meeting and in a private meeting that no opt out was being pursued.
"I'm just asking you guys to tighten where ever you can without hurting the kids," Sorenson said.
At the time of the writing of this article, the recording of the meeting was not posted. However, Supt. Johnson stated that he was open to all questions, and asked that voters be willing to reach out to him. He can be reached by phone at (605) 594-3451 or email at .
UPDATE 3/2/23: The full information and Q&A session can be found on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/vXpLYNJ-RQU
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