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LOYAL SCHOOL DISTRICT DISCUSSES REFERENDUM
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 -- 10:04 am
Posted by Riley Hebert-News Director
 These are weighty times for the Loyal School District.
The district held its annual meeting last night. Voters approved the 2010-2011 tax levy of $1.445 million an increase of 7.6% over 2009-2010 budget. The mill rate will be 7.98 up from 7.41 last year.
But the main focus of the meeting was the impending revenue cap exemption referendum and the consequences should voters turn it back, as they did to a smaller referendum last year.
Superintendent Graeme Williams says the board has identified thousands of dollars worth of electives that would be first to go. Things like sports, agriculture, Spanish, FACE and technology education.
"This is not a scare tactic," Williams says. "We've made cuts in the past that hadn't really had an effect on education in the classroom. We've made those cuts, now we have to go in this direction, unfortunately."
The referendum, up for a vote in November, would allow the district to exceed the state-imposed revenue cap by $697,000 per year for the next four years. If passed, the referendum would mean a $394 tax increase on a $100,000 property value the first year.
"We came up with a total of $641,608. Would it all be done at one time? No. But if we don't pass the referendum, we'd have to make some of those cuts this year and some the following year," Williams says.
But, when you start cutting popular electives, parents might start open enrolling their children to different schools. The district would then lose that state aid. It’s a phenomenon referred to by some as a “death spiral”.
"If you don't offer programs to kids that want to participate in extra curricular activities, those kids are probably going to go somewhere else," he says.
The district could probably stay open for two or three years if no referendum is approved, but Williams hopes the board would look into consolidation again before opting for dissolution.
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