Riverside School District Deeper In Hole New Budget Starts With The District $490,000 In The Red

As the Riverside School District continues to deal with its leadership woes, it also faces serious budget problems.

The school board approved its 2000-01 budget this week, which starts with the district $490,000 in the red. By the end of the new fiscal year, which started Friday, district officials predict a budget deficit of about $725,000.

The new budget outlines $14.14 million in revenues, yet lists $14.33 million in expenses.

Most of the beginning deficit is the result of the recent buyout of Superintendent Jerry Wilson, said Jerry McDermott, assistant superintendent of Educational Service District 101 of Spokane. ESD 101 staff and the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction are working with Riverside on a plan to get the district out of the hole.

The additional $235,000 in debt the district expects to accrue over the next year is being blamed on declining enrollment and increased costs.

Reserve funds tapped by the district to cover shortfalls in the past five years have run dry.

“This is very serious, but it’s something they can recover from,” McDermott said.

Even though Riverside is starting off $490,000 in the red, the debt actually will be paid off over 15 years with interest.

The district, however, had to post the entire buyout amount in this past year’s budget.

“Much of this deficit is going to be paid out over 15 years, so it’s not immediate cash flow,” McDermott said.

Wilson agreed to a buyout of the remaining three years of his contract Aug. 4 after months of acrimony with the district’s teachers. Wilson made about $140,000 a year in salary and benefits.

Then on Aug. 22, Assistant Superintendent Terry Weinmann announced he was retiring. In addition to his retirement benefits, Weinmann received a severance package that cost the district an added $60,000, McDermott said.

The school board approved the deficit budget Monday and is petitioning for the required OSPI approval. Meanwhile, ESD 101 and the district are developing a plan to fix the district’s money problems, which ultimately means trimming expenses and increasing revenues.

“By the end of the month, we are hopeful they will have their plan that OSPI can approve,” McDermott said.

Once the plan is approved, the district may borrow into its future state revenues, which ultimately must be paid back.

Kathy Stroyan, the district’s business manager who had the difficult task of drafting the budget, could not be reached for comment.

Board member Paula Thorngate remains hopeful the district can regain financial health. But she said she feels like she has inherited a budget problem that started long before she was elected to the board last November.

“We just didn’t go into debt overnight,” she said. “This is an accumulation of longtime decision making.”

Over the past five years, the district has used its reserve funds to offset cost overruns. In the 1995-96 school year, the district had more than $1 million in reserves. It’s now gone.

It’s a trend that angers Ted Swenson, a member of the district’s budget committee, which was formed earlier this summer to advise the board.

“They are spending more than they are receiving,” Swenson said. “The district has a five-year track record of quarter-million dollar deficits.”

It’s not clear at this point where the district is going to make cuts or find new revenue.

Weinmann said the district has faced the challenge of declining enrollment, rising special education costs and the expense of fixing Riverside High School’s ongoing mold problem.

State funding is based on enrollment. Enrollment has dropped from 2,198 students in 1996-97 to 2,058 last school year. Riverside officials won’t know this year’s enrollment until after classes start Sept. 11.

Weinmann said he hopes his retirement ultimately will help the district.

“It they don’t replace me, it should save the district some money this year,” he said.

Weinmann made about $100,000 a year in salary and benefits.

ESD 101 also is helping Riverside search for an interim and permanent superintendent.