by Scott Jentsch

The District's Long Range Planning process has been a concern for me for quite some time. After three straight years of allocating no money in the budget to planned long-term maintenance, $250,000 was allocated in the 2021 Fiscal Year. In a budget that contains expenditures of over $61.5 million, that $250,000 represented just 0.4% of the total budget that we're applying toward maintaining and improving our facilities, classrooms, and other infrastructure needs.

During the 2020 Annual Meeting, Chief Financial and Operations Officer Patrick Miller listed "Deferred maintenance projects" as a financial hurdle for the District. He stated "...what needs to be understood is that there are significant long-term/long-range capital projects that are not included in our annual budgets that are helping us balance those budgets." He encouraged those at the meeting to be aware of the long-term needs and how they would impact future budgets and the District's infrastructure.

It should be no surprise to anyone that $250,000 is insufficient, so the best that could be said about it was that it was better than nothing. 

A proposal to increase the funding for the Long-Range Plan was presented at the February 8, 2021 School Board meeting. If approved, that proposal would increase the amount allocated to the Long-Range Plan to $350,000 next year, followed in subsequent years by allocations of $500,000, $750,000, and $1,000,000 (Fiscal Year 2025). The primary part of the presentation was how to pay for it within the operating budget, which was very informational, and it should give everyone some confidence that District Administration is working hard to increase the allocations for the Long-Range Plan while still balancing the budget.

While I applaud this effort, I couldn't help but wonder if even the increased amounts were sufficient for our needs. That information has been conspicuously absent from the conversation.

During the "Privilege of the Floor" time that happened at beginning of the next meeting on February 22, 2021, I posed that question:

Given that, before the current fiscal year, the District went for three years with no long range planned maintenance items funded in the budget, I am very concerned that even with the proposed increases presented at a previous Board meeting, those increases appear to the public to be arbitrary, and may not be sufficient to meet our needs because of the backlog of projects.

If there is one question that I hope is answered tonight is if the proposed budget amounts for the next four years are sufficient to meet the needs in the Long Range Plan.

At no time during the presentation or during the discussion that followed was that question answered.

At the March 8, 2021 School Board meeting, another presentation was given on the Long-Range Plan, which included a proposal to allocate additional funds to the Long-Range Plan by using the fund balance.

Presentation Slide - Page 9

As you can see, the allocations are substantially higher than the previously-proposed increases, raising the total funding to $1.15 million in Fiscal Year 2022, peaking at $1.7 million in the 2025 Fiscal Year.

It would seem my concerns about the original proposed increases being insufficient were valid.

It is interesting to note that, even at this presentation, and after asking my question directly to District Administration before the March 8 meeting, it still was not directly answered at the meeting. Nor was it asked during the discussion among the Board members afterward.

Since the meeting, I did receive confirmation that the increased amounts were sufficient for the projected needs.That's very good to hear, as maintaining our infrastructure properly is essential for educational success.

These increases are not yet approved, however, so it's still possible that they will not happen. It's going to require constant attention and for someone to continue to ask the right questions and expect thorough answers.

Greater Communication and More Transparency Still Needed

The fact that the Long-Range Plan is a "living, breathing" document that changes often has been reinforced by each presentation. That makes sense that it must adjust to current needs, both expected and unexpected. It is not so much a "document" to be put on a shelf but rather a "tool" that is used to make decisions on an ongoing basis.

I would love for this "tool" to be more transparent to the public, however. I have suggested that a "dashboard" interface be created, which would allow near-real-time updates of important data points. Another one of my goals if elected to the School Board is to increase the amount of communication that goes out to the community. This would be an excellent example of providing more information in an useful manner to help the public understand the needs in the Long-Range Plan, and how each project is being addressed.

Last Updated: Apr 15, 2022

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