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Whether or not a levy request is passed in November, the Benjamin Logan School District will be in the red within five years, Treasurer Mandy France told the board at the regular meeting Monday evening.
Just how much that amounts to is the big question.
If voters approve the 3.8-mill property tax at the general election, the district is projected to have a negative cash balance of nearly $5.2 million.
If the issue doesn’t pass, however, the district will be looking at close to $11.7 million of deficit, according to the treasurer’s five-year forecast.
Passage of the substitution levy, which generates about $1.375 million per year and has been in effect for many years, won’t be enough to save the district, France said.
“I can’t stress enough how much we are dependent on the passage of this levy,” she said. “Regardless of what happens, our balance five years out will be a deficit, but is still very critical that we pass this levy.
“How we address the rest will be determined by what the board wants to do.”
In addition to the continuing loss of revenue, which includes the personal tangible property tax that will be entirely eliminated within the next five years and other rising costs of educating youths, the district also faces unique challenges.
“We are the 16th largest school district in the state by area of land and that comes with a cost,” France said. “Keeping 40 buses filled with gas to drive 4,000 to 5,000 miles a day and maintenance isn’t cheap. There is really no help out there for busing; so the sustainability of it is difficult.
“I wish we had a magic pie-in-the-sky solution, but unfortunately we don’t,” the treasurer said.
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