At its April 7 meeting, the District 197 School Board heard three different reports that demonstrate the District’s commitment to being fiscally responsible, transparent and accountable for taxpayer funds.
“We take our responsibility as fiscal stewards very seriously,” said Superintendent Nancy Allen-Mastro. “We continually look for ways to save money and reduce administrative costs – enabling us to ensure that our funds support student learning first and foremost.”
1: Switch to self-insured health and dental plans saves money
Insurance costs are being controlled thanks to a change made last year from fully-insured employee healthcare and dental plans to self-insured (self-funded) plans. This is especially welcome news, given increasing pressure that health care costs put on organizational budgets.
Director of Finance Brian Schultz and Director of Human Resources Linda Goers reported that both the healthcare and dental plans were performing extremely well and will help control insurance costs in future budgets.
In a self-insured system, rather than paying a set premium to an insurance company, the District manages the funds used to pay claims (through a third party administrator). Further, it enables the district to gain an understanding of organization-specific healthcare costs, which it uses to accurately fund the plan. The district can then offer employees the same coverage, while creating stability in rates year-to-year.
2: Borrowing costs reduced
Thanks to changes in state funding and a balanced District budget, School District 197 will not need to borrow funds to meet its regular expenditures this year – the first time this has occurred in more than a decade.
The practice of borrowing money to meet monthly expenses has become an annual practice for many Minnesota school districts due to lengthy delays in the state’s disbursement of education funding. In recent years legislators have withheld as much as 40 percent of school districts’ funding to help balance the state’s budget.
However, this year the state’s metering of payments has returned to the normal 90 percent current year and 10 percent the next fiscal year cycle, allowing school districts to avoid short-term borrowing costs. School District 197 has spent between $50,000-$100,000 each of the last five years in interest and fees associated with cash-flow borrowing.
“When the district is able to shift its focus from simply paying its day-to-day bills, it can start to look to the future and make better long-term financial decisions and strategic investments in our classrooms,” Schultz said.
3: Community perceives District as good financial steward
The District received the results of its annual community survey conducted in February. According to Bill Morris of the Morris Leatherman Company, the majority of District 197 residents believe the District spends tax money effectively and efficiently, and has spent past technology and operating levy referendum funds responsibly.
In fact, the percentage of residents who said they thought the district spends taxpayers’ money effectively is higher than the norm of Minnesota metro school districts, placing District 197 within “the top quarter [of districts] across the metro area,” Morris said. Among respondents who have children in the district, 72% agree the district is spending taxpayers’ money effectively, “which is outstanding” compared to other districts, Morris said.
In addition:
- 82% believe the District 197 community receives a good value from its investment in our schools
- 84% said they trust the School Board to do what's right for children in the district
The survey results indicate resident support for District 197, and its commitment to allocating resources in a wise, sustainable manner to cost-effectively achieve the District vision, meet educational goals, and direct maximum resources to the classroom.
Combined, these reports reinforce the good news received in December, when an independent auditing firm gave District 197 a “clean opinion” of its finances, which is the highest rating an auditor can give.
