Liberty schools’ forecast: Surplus, then deficit

February 29, 2012 at 12:04a.m.

Liberty

A cost-savings plan and the infusion of cash from the state are projected to leave the school district with an $89,000 surplus for fiscal year 2012 but a $5.7 million deficit in 2016, according to the five-year projection presented Tuesday to the fiscal commission.

Before the $1.9 million interest-free loan from the state and the $1.2 million cuts in personnel that were announced in January, Liberty was projected to head into fiscal year 2013 with a $1.9 million deficit and $10.1 million deficit by 2016.

The surplus led Roger Nehls, chairman of the fiscal commission charged by the state to guide the school district from fiscal emergency, to believe the district may not need another loan from the state while in fiscal emergency.

The forecast, presented by district Treasurer James Wilson, also showed the district’s benefits- to-salary ratio would increase over the same span of time from 43 percent to 47 percent of employees’ salary.

This means if an employee made $35,000 in 2016, the employee’s benefits would cost 47 percent of that or $16,450.

The statewide average ratio for school employees is closer to 36 percent, Nehls said.

As the district and the school employees union enter into contract negotiations, the statistic highlights a point the fiscal commission has reiterated repeatedly since it was first formed in September: Employees must pay more for their benefits.

Nehls called dealing with the benefits “critical.”

“One of the major issues left where dollars need to be found is in the health-care costs,” he said.

The school district’s administration will negotiate with the union beginning March 28.

Liberty Superintendent Stan Watson said “health care is certainly one of the items that will be addressed.”

Once the two sides agree on the contract, it will have to be approved by the board of education and then approved by the fiscal commission.

Nehls said if the commission is not happy with the new benefits package, it would not approve the contract and send it back to negotiations.

But the commission does not have the power to change an existing contract outside of reducing staff levels.

Rick Svetlek, the vice president of the Liberty Association of School Employees union and a member of the health-care committee, said the committee, which consists of Liberty board members and union members, met two weeks ago and plans to do so again before negotiations begin.

He said the committee is exploring all options but would not comment specifically on the talks until a benefits package was more concrete and ready for recommendation to the negotiating table.

“We are exploring all options to give employees a good package and to give the board a more cost-effective option,” Svetlek said.

Nehls would not elaborate on what kind of benefit package he and the rest of the commission would like to see come from the contract talks.

“We will not dictate a firm solution,” Nehls said. “Then we become a party in the negotiations, and that’s not our part.”