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By Jon Tatting
jon.tatting@ecm-inc.com
Residents of District 911 can expect almost a 6 percent increase on the school portion of their 2010 property tax bill if property values remain the same as last year.
The Cambridge-Isanti School Board on Dec. 17 unanimously approved the 2009, payable 2010 property tax levy totalling $8,712,842. Specifically, the total school district levy will increase by 5.89 percent from 2009.
Prior to the vote, Finance Director Robyn Vosberg-Torgerson presented the current year budget and provided details of the property tax levy changes for 2010.
She explained the school district general fund will decrease by 21.93 percent or $603,509; the community service levy will increase by 15.58 percent or $57,711; and the debt service levy will increase by 20.19 percent or $1,030,697.
Cost saving options
Acting on a cost saving option with a deficit reaching the $2 million mark, the school board unanimously approved a retirement incentive for eligible full-time teachers.
Teachers who qualify have until mid January to notify the district of their participation since the incentive—a payment of $10,000 into a health retirement account—will not be available after January 15, 2010.
Superintendent Bruce Novak noted the retirement incentive represents one option of several proposals, as school administrators have been looking at reductions and cost saving measures to tame the district’s deficit.
Another area that’s been discussed is an alternative calendar, involving perhaps a four-day instructional week; a year-round calendar for all students; or longer schools days with an energy break in January, reported Novak.
“But we will need public meetings and get feedback from parents,” he said.
In addition, Novak suggested the board may want to start looking at another operating levy election now for 2010. He noted an earlier decision, compared to this year’s effort, would be a better approach.
‘Race to the Top’
In his report to the board, Superintendent Novak addressed the federal “Race to the Top” federal grant competition, which has prompted application from several states including Minnesota.
The grant has also caught the attention of local districts, such as Braham and now Cambridge-Isanti, given the economic climate and its impact on school funding.
Novak said he met with teachers John Droubie and Rob Swanson who earlier in the day received a better grasp on “Race to the Top” during an event at the Wellstone Center in St. Paul.
When asked of what he learned, Swanson informed board members that the “short side” of the grant money is $175 million, pending arrival to Minnesota, yet state Education Commissioner Alice Seagren is more interested in $200 million.
The federal grant offers four years of funding, but then what? presented Swanson, addressing a common debate point that drew similar concern with the federal stimulus money.
However, “it has the potential of how instruction is delivered, which could be a positive for the district,” he added.
For the district to qualify for “Race to the Top,” it would need to adopt Gov. Pawlenty’s Q Comp program—considered a controversial alternative pay system that keeps teachers accountable based on student achievement.
“We should decide soon if we want to press forward,” urged Swanson of the district’s pursuit of the federal grant competition.
In other action, the board...
• agreed to expel a student, whose identity and information is kept confidential under state privacy laws.
• In his negotiations update, Board Member Dan Fosse said some progress has been made with custodian and food service groups on their next two-year contracts, while a meeting with teachers was expected on Tuesday, Dec. 22.
• tabled action on switching the existing block schedule at Cambridge-Isanti High School to a hybrid modified schedule, as proposed by CIHS Principal Mitch Clausen. Board members voiced concerns ranging from cost to if the new schedule would be in the best interest of students.
Clausen noted Minnesota school districts, such as Forest Lake, use the hybrid approach—a modified, six-period day with students taking some “skinny’ or class offerings of lesser time during the day.
Forest Lake, for instance, had been on a four-period day prior to its switch.
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