Sigourney School Board Goes Over Finances

SIGOURNEY – During the March 13 meeting of the Sigourney School Board, Superintendent Kevin Hatfield gave the board an overview of the school’s finances. The district’s certified enrollment is 563.2, up from 552.3 last year and 532.9 ten years ago. The school will receive a $199,401 increase in State Supplemental Aid if the state goes with the governor's proposed 3% increase and $220,844 if the state goes with the House’s 2.5% proposed increase. There is currently only one student in the district receiving an Education Savings Account, also known as a school voucher; the district receives approximately $1,205 for this student. The district’s tax rate has steadily gone down over the past 13 years, from a tax rate of 16.01963 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2011 to 11.46219 this year. The district will generate $2,339,129 from property taxes levied in 2024. The district has a solvency ratio of 10-20% and an unspent authorized budget ratio of 5-15. The district has a student-staff ratio of 12 pupils per certified staff and 16 per regular education teacher.

Board member Alan Glandon talked about the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) area created by the city in 2008 to fund an Urban Renewal project in the northeast part of Sigourney, which helped fund a sewer lift and Belva Deer Inn. Glandon explained that the TIF area raised $40,000 more than what was needed. The city plans to use this money for a storm sewer project on Ringold Street, which will cost an additional estimated $130,000. The city plans to extend the TIF area for two additional years, sunsetting in 2028, to raise these funds, during which time the school will continue to receive money from properties in the TIF area at the 2008 tax evaluation value. Glandon explained the school will only lose $39,000.

Julie Tremmel, a Sigourney teacher retiring after thirty years, requested the board begin offering teachers incentives for letting the school know early that they are retiring. In addition to being a show of thanks to teachers who have been with the district for years, Tremmel feels this will allow the district to begin looking for new hires faster. She noted that “every day matters” because the pool of available teachers shrinks as the year goes on. She urged the board to do everything in their power to do the right thing, for teachers and students, and get better teachers hired.