Colfax school district pays 54 cents per gallon for LP buses

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX  —  It’s been a long time since fuel for vehicles has been in the 50-cent per gallon range.

But 54 cents per gallon is what the Colfax school district ultimately will end up paying to fuel the district’s three Liquid Propane buses for the 2015-2016 school year, said Bill Yingst, district administrator, at the Colfax school district’s annual meeting July 25.

The price the school district actually paid for LP last year to fuel the buses was $1.04 per gallon, but Colfax school board member Kyle Knutson, who also is the Energy Division manager of Cedar Country Cooperative, became aware of an “alternative fuels federal credit” that could apply to the school district, Yingst said.

The Colfax school district will be receiving 50 cents per gallon back on the LP used to fuel the buses, he said.

In a follow-up e-mail message the day after the annual meeting, Yingst said it appears that the alternative fuels federal credit can go back to January 1, 2015 and go forward through December 31, 2016.

So far, 16,200 gallons would be eligible, and at 50 cents per gallon, that would amount to $8,100, he noted.

Five more months remain in 2016, so the additional gallons of LP used for the buses also will eligible for the credit, Yingst said.

A portion of the $7.2 million referendum question in November involves purchasing six more LP buses for the school district.

Pay increase

As part of the business conducted during the annual meeting, school district electors approved a $5 per meeting pay increase for Board of Education members.

Board members currently receive $80 per meeting, which will increase to $85 per meeting.

Electors also approved an increase of $50 per year for the school board president and clerk, for a total of $950 per year.

School board directors received an annual increase, too, of $50, going from $550 per year to $600 per year.

In addition, electors approved increasing the rate of pay for school board members to attend the state school board convention in January by $50 per day, bringing the total up to $150 per day.

Last year, electors at the annual meeting increased the rate of pay per meeting for all school board members by $10, going from $70 per meeting to $80.

The pay increases for school board members brings Colfax more in line with other school districts, Yingst said.

The approved school board salaries will cover a one-year period beginning on April 30, 2017.

Tax levy

Electors in the school district approved a tax levy for the 2016-2017 school year of $2,876,672, with the understanding that adjustments will be implemented in October following the September student count.

The levy for 2015-2016 included in the annual meeting report comparing tax levies was $2,759,582.

The proposed levy for the 2016-2017 represents an increase of $117,090 over the amount reported in the levy comparison.

According to the mill rate and levy comparison, since 1985, the highest mill rate was $18.89 per $1,000 of property value in 1990-91.

The mill rate last year was $8.67 per $1,000 of property value.

The Colfax school district’s mill rate dropped below $10 in 1998-1999 at $9.79 per $1,000 of property value.

The state-wide average for school district mill rates is around $10.50 or $10.75, Yingst said, adding that Colfax is still below the state-wide average.

The proposed expenditure budget for the new school year is $8,701,442.

Property values

Property values in the school district have been increasing over the past few years, Yingst said.

The value of property in the school district was $318.39 million for 2015, compared to $309.34 million in 2014, which compared to $306.33 million in 2013.

Increasing property values helps increase the school district’s revenue limit and also means the school district will receive a little more state aid, Yingst said.

Salaries

Even with health insurance premiums increasing by ten percent and dental insurance premiums increasing by nine percent, the total salaries and benefits for 2016-2017 of $6,312,895 represents a $26,754 decrease over last year.

The total health insurance premiums listed for the 2016-2017 budget is $1.15 million, and the total dental insurance premiums are listed at $60,000.

The decrease in salaries is due to teacher retirements, Yingst said.

In addition, the employer contribution to the Wisconsin Retirement System has decreased by about $28,000.

The decrease reflects a 1.2 percent reduction in the payment for the unfunded pension liability because the amount was refinanced through a loan from Dairy State Bank, Yingst said.

The previous interest rate on the unfunded pension liability was 8.5 percent, and the refinanced interest rate is 3.95 percent interest, he said.

The annual payment amount for the unfunded pension liability is $30,419, according to information included in the annual meeting report.

At the current rate, the unfunded pension liability would be paid off in 2024 for a total of principal and interest of $486,704.

The amount remaining on the principal is $392,512.

Part of the $7.2 million referendum in November would include paying off the unfunded pension liability.

Paying off the unfunded pension liability now would save taxpayers nearly $100,000 in interest.

Other business 

In other business during the annual meeting, electors in the school district:

• Approved resolutions to allow the school board president to provide for the prosecution or defense of any action or proceeding in which the school district is interested; directing the school board to provide hot lunches to students in the district and to pay any deficit from the lunch program from the general fund; and authorizing the sale of personal property belonging to the school district that is no longer needed, and directing the school board to list any items put up for sale either through a private sale or public auction to be listed in the local newspaper.

• Approved a resolution allowing the school district to do short-term borrowing for cash flow purposes, if necessary. School board member Ken Bjork noted that the school district has not had to do any short-term borrowing but the formality was necessary “just in case” cash flow were to become an issue.

• Approved a resolution changing the October school board meeting to the fourth Monday in October due to the October 15 equalized aid release date for setting the tax levy proposed, and changing the April meeting to the last Monday of the month in order to align with state statute to install newly elected board members.

• Approved a resolution to exceed the revenue limit on a non-recurring basis for new energy efficiency measures and renewable energy products in the amount of $179,569, which covers the energy efficiency projects completed three years ago. Another seven years remains on paying off the energy efficiency projects.