How I View the Budget, Finances, and Facilities of Firth School District.

I would like to explain more about our district’s budgeting and the state of our finances and facilities. 

At every June meeting the board is presented the proposed budget for the coming school year by the Business Manager. The Business Manager and Superintendent work together after the completion of the state legislative session to figure out the complicated funding formulas. Over the last several years the district has maintained a Contingency Fund balance of approximately $800,000. This is about two months operating revenue recommended by the accountant that annually audits the district finances. It took probably thirty years to be able to build up and maintain the $800,000 so the district has worked hard not to overspend which would require tapping into this fund. 

In recent years with patrons supporting supplemental levies and the state slowly increasing our funding, our district is in much better financial shape than it was during the recession. Our district has no debt. All our facilities are paid for. In my business as a dairy farmer I have a lot of debt, but constantly strive to reduce it as much as possible. I really hate having the burden of debt, and feel good that our district has none. There is one more year on our current supplemental levy. Most of next year’s money will go toward solving the need for a bus shop. The exact plan hasn’t been determined yet. I am hopeful that with state funding increasing, there won’t be a need to ask for another supplemental levy next year. The Strategic Planning Committee (which is established by the administration, and consists of community members, district staff, and at least one administrator) will meet and determine future needs of the district. If they determine our current needs exceed our revenue they will make recommendations to the board as to what the needs are, and if we should ask for another levy. 

The district is current with curriculum and technology after being behind during the recession. When the district needs to purchase new curriculum, the money will be set aside in the budget to buy it. 

I have always stated when asked about potential facility needs that there are only really two reasons to build any building. One, if a building is structurally unsound, and the other is if we are getting crowded. All our buildings are in good shape. We have spent approximately $500,000 fixing up the elementary the last few years, with a new roof and boiler being the major updates. The middle school now has a new roof and several new windows. Other updates and maintenance, like furnace replacement are scheduled in coming years. The high school has a mostly new roof and other updates, with more planned in future years. 

As far as getting crowded, we are in good shape in this area too. Our district has been growing about twenty five students a year the last few years, but this year we took a step back with a very small kindergarten class of only forty four kids. Last I heard our attendance is about a dozen less than last year. There are several empty classrooms throughout the district. 

I know eventually this will change, but not in the foreseeable future. With the cost of an elementary being around ten million dollars, and with all the money we have spent updating it, I think any plan to abandon the building would be irresponsible. When needed, the most cost effective expansion would be to add classrooms to the middle school. The way it was designed would make adding rooms fairly simple. 

As I have said before. One main reason I chose to run for re-election was to help hire a new Superintendent. There are at least two ways to go about hiring a Superintendent. One would be to hire the Idaho School Boards Association out of Boise to put out the job notice and do the initial screening of applicants, which could be quite costly. The other way would be for the district to manage the process. The district would form a committee with community members and staff to handle the initial interview of applicants. I personally much prefer the later method. There wouldn’t be the cost, and I think we would likely find someone who would be a better fit for our district. I don’t like the idea of Boise academics basically choosing the finalists for our Superintendent. I have no idea what method the other board members would prefer, because it hasn’t been discussed yet. 

Choosing the right Superintendent is such an important decision that will have a lasting impact on the success of our school district. I would appreciate the opportunity to be able to help with this process, and I think my many years of board experience would prove beneficial in helping to make this decision. 

If you have any questions on this or any other issue please let me know. You can contact me at besplin@d59.k12.id.us or call me at 208-521-6217

Thank you, Brian Esplin