The Fox C-6 School District will not change to a four-day schedule next school year, after all.
In January, Superintendent Paul Fregeau said the district would adopt a four-day school week next school year in an effort to save costs. However, he announced at the Feb. 7 Board of Education meeting that the district would not make that change.
He said Fox was projected to save about $1 million by changing to a shorter school week, but that proposal could be taken off the table for now because the district will continue to receive about $5 million in state funding that officials previously thought would not be available next school year.
The district still has to reduce spending, though, and the four-day week was just one of several cost-cutting measures Fregeau proposed in January.
It drew a lot of opposition, though, so it’s been placed on the back burner.
“It (the four-day week) seemed like the most logical one to give more time to vet and talk with our folks about,” Fregeau said.
Board president Krystal Hargis said she is pleased Fox will not change to a four-day schedule next school year.
“I had several concerns about the impact on our students and their families,” she said. “High school students might like it because then they have one day to pursue work and/or other activities, but for the majority of our students and their families, it presents challenges. Most of the feedback we’ve gotten from parents and staff has been in favor of keeping five days a week.”
Fregeau said the district may still eliminate $3,350,000 in expenditures by eliminating 27 teaching and three administrative positions; reducing the district’s buildings budget and postponing the purchase of Chromebooks.
He also hopes to add $1.8 million to its operating budget by shifting 15 cents from its capital improvement levy to its operating funds and has pledged to explore generating more revenue through facility rentals and increasing advertising opportunities at the district’s baseball, softball and football fields and school gyms.
Fregeau also recommended that board members consider placing a tax increase of $1.0207 per $100 assessed valuation on the August ballot. In January, he recommended a $1.1207 tax increase.
If voters approve a $1.0207 increase, the Fox tax levy would increase from $4.2617 per $100 assessed valuation to $5.2824 per $100 assessed valuation.
“We are trying to be reasonable with our taxpayers,” said Fregeau, who noted that the district has not had a tax increase since 2004.
State funds
Fregeau said the district no longer is in danger of losing $5 million in state funding based on how the district reports average daily attendance numbers for students.
He said the state has allowed Fox, like other school districts, to submit attendance information based on the number of students enrolled before the COVID-19 pandemic, which is higher than the number of students enrolled now. State funding uses attendance numbers to determine the amount of funding school districts receive.
Fregeau said because district officials had been told that next school year the state would end that practice and instead start using the highest average daily attendance numbers from either the 2021-2022 or 2022-23 school year or an estimate of average daily attendance for the 2023-2024 school year, that would mean a reduction in state funding.
However, Fox officials have since learned that the state won’t make that change next school year, Fregeau said.
Finances
With the additional $5 million in state funding, the Fox district’s budget deficit for next school year is now projected at $8.2 million instead of $13.2 million, Fregeau said.
To address the deficit, Fox officials still plan to reduce its staff to save about $2.6 million, eliminate a total of $250,000 from the district’s budget for its 18 buildings and not spend $500,000 to refresh its supply of Chromebooks for next school year, which saves about $3,350,000.
Fox is expected to have about $3 million less at the start of next school year than it began with this school year. Fox began the 2022-2023 school year with operating fund balances of $26,172,566.
Fregeau said Fox will need a tax levy increase, along with the expenditure reductions, to improve the district’s financial outlook.
He said school officials decided on the $1.0207 increase based on current information for what the district needs going forward.
“We are using the numbers we know today,” Fregeau said. “If things change, we can adjust it accordingly. I’m just trying to provide people with the most up-to-date information we have.”
Fregeau also said without a tax increase, Fox likely will have to switch to a four-day school week for the 2024-2025 school year, as well as make other cuts, like reducing staff again, eliminating academic and athletic programs and possibly closing a school for the 2024-2025 school year.
“I think Dr. Fregeau’s new recommendation for the tax levy is a good idea,” Hargis said. “This community has consistently supported the school district when the need is clear. We need to look at what we truly need to help ensure that the tax levy will pass. The community trusts us to tell the truth about our financial situation, and this is the best decision at this time. We will receive harder numbers in May, after the state budget is passed, and the district will review these numbers and may make other adjustments at that time.”