District taps brakes on spending and hiring

Anticipating lower revenues this fall, the Luverne School Board encouraged staff to curb spending as the district prepares for the 2020-21 school year.
Board members encouraged administrators at the Thursday night, May 28, meeting to look at absorbing a recent teacher opening instead of immediately hiring a replacement.
Board member Colleen Deutsch suggested the conservative approach due to the recent legislative session ending without a school funding proposal. Also weighing on Deutsch’s suggestion is the recently revised Luverne budget that indicated an estimated $500,000 deficit at the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year.
Other board members agreed with Deutsch.
“We are in an unprecedented downturn,” said Vice Chairman Eric Hartman. “We are going to have to think strategically.”
At the state budget level, the coronavirus pandemic turned a $1.5 billion budget surplus to a projected $2.4 billion deficit since March. School officials are anticipating a reduction in state funding.
The local budget concern has board members evaluating upcoming improvement projects.
Members split on a 5-2 vote on parking lot improvements at the district’s bus barn.
Members Reva Sehr and Katie Baustian wanted to postpone the project due to the doubling of the project’s cost.
The proposals to extend the current 4-foot wide concrete apron to 44-feet wide ranged from $66,900 to $101,000.
The proposals also included a concrete swale to funnel water away from the front of the bus barn’s overhead doors. The concrete apron and swale replace the asphalt surface that excessive water drainage has eroded.
District officials budgeted $300,000 for parking lot improvements.
Hulstein Excavating of Edgerton was awarded the bid with the low $66,900 proposal. The project is expected to be finished in late July.
The split vote came after the board unanimously supported spending $32,300 to place drainage tile around the two baseball fields on the school campus.
The tile will be buried around the outside of the two playing fields to funnel excess moisture away from the perimeter fencing. The water has pushed the perimeter fence posts out of the ground, causing a safety hazard.
Reker Construction of Adrian submitted the only project proposal. The project is expected to be finished in July followed by the fence repairs.
Board members tabled updating an employment contract with Superintendent Craig Oftedahl.
 
Revised budget shows deficit
Board members approved a revised 2019-20 budget at their April 23 meeting. The revision reflected a deficit of $539,000 in the general fund.
Business manager Marlene Mann presented the revised budget of $18 million.
Mann said a decline in enrollment is the main contributor to the deficit.
“Our enrollment this year is at 1,202 and last year it was at 1,229,” Mann said. “When you have that kind of reduction it makes quite a difference in your basic formula.”
School districts receive a basic formula allowance of $6,438 per average daily membership.
For the 2020-21 school year enrollment is projected to remain steady. 
Mann assured board members that the district can cover this year’s projected deficit, but cautioned future budgets may not have the same flexibility.
“You need to keep in mind, you get a snowball effect, and if you don’t stop the snowball, it gets bigger faster,” she said.
Outside of the general fund, overspending is expected in food service and community service of $61,000 and $86,000 respectively. However, the continued expenses and decrease in revenue in these areas due to the coronavirus pandemic could increase the deficits.
Since the pandemic closed schools and students turned to distance learning, the district continued to prepare meals for students free of charge and provided day care for essential medical workers. Community education continued school readiness classes distantly but no tuition was charged.
This summer the district will continue a food service program into June for the first time in school history.
School districts may be reimbursed for the added expenditures due to the coronavirus; however, no decisions have been made at the state level. Minnesota legislators next meet June 12 in special session.
 
In other business, the school board:
•Accepted the resignations of Deb Hoogendoorn as middle school girls’ tennis coach effective May 1, Jodi Rops, middle school basketball coach, effective May 12, David Rysdam, social studies teacher, effective May 27, and Barb Antoine, middle school boys’ tennis coach, effective May 19.
•Revised the salary of Ann Rigney, food service director, from 200 to 220 days to accommodate the summer food service program through June. The total salary for 2019-20 will be $40,500.
•Approved the maternity leave request for Kellsie Rivas, paraprofessional, from Aug. 28 to Nov. 19.
•Accepted the retirement of Todd Mann, custodian, effective Aug. 28.
•Approved hiring Lisa Nath as community education/ECFE/school readiness director. Salary for the 2020-21 contract year is $60,000.