Damakant Jayshi
The Wausau School Board on Monday approved laying off at least three employees from the district and re-opening an early retirement option until May 9 as part of an effort to balance the budget, amid a looming shortfall.
The board at a special meeting also approved a 3% raise for employee groups for the 2024-25 school year. Last year’s raise was 5%.
Wausau School District officials proposed layoffs as one of the measures to reduce a multi-million dollar budget deficit before the next school year begins. Although about 25 full time equivalent employees will be reduced, most of the losses are being absorbed through alternative options. The district could launch an operational referendum to cover operating costs like salaries and other related expenses.
School officials estimate a nearly $2 million savings through the reductions. District officials blame declining state funding and an inability to raise the revenue limit as the central reasons behind the shortfall.
The budget deficit reflects current staffing and a 3% salary raise, while $1.2 million is related to positions added in response to the coronavirus pandemic through a federal grant program called Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief. The numbers also include a carryover deficit of $716,000 from 2023-24.
The figures related to employee reductions were slightly changed from what was initially uploaded in the meeting packet on Friday.
While an overall reduction of 24.65 FTE remains unchanged, administration officials said Monday that after additional discussions, the number of full time equivalent layoffs will now be 3.3, down from a previous projection of 4.3 FTE. The remaining 21 reductions have been managed either through retirements, resignations, or reassignments to other open positions that the district had, said the district’s Human Resources Director Tabatha Gundrum at the Education/Operations Committee meeting that preceded the special meeting of the board.
“We were able to reinstate some staff that otherwise might have been reduced,” she said.
During the discussion on measures proposed, Superintendent Keith Hilts recommended giving a 2% raise, saying that raise would help balance the budget. The other two options were 3% and 4.12%. The estimated deficit in each scenario would be $755,000, about 1.5 million, and about $2.4 million, respectively.
Administration officials clarified that they were not setting salaries for the employees Monday night; rather, they were seeking the board’s guidance to prepare the district’s budget for 2024-25.
However, board member Pat McKee suggested moving ahead with a 3% raise, saying they could go up or down from that figure. “From a planning perspective, that gives us more flexibility going forward while being most realistic today.”
New board member Sarah Marie Brock backed that suggestion. The board approved the 3% raise unanimously.
Hilts also asked if the board expected the administration to come up with more layoffs. Board president James Bouche said that since they approved re-opening the retirement period, it might change the numbers since some more employees might choose that option.
HR Director Gundrum said the district now has 68 staff members in its teacher employee group that would be eligible for retirement at this point in time who didn’t choose to retire for a range of reasons. Reopening retirement could be an opportunity for some eligible employees who missed the most recent deadline in December.
Board member Brock said that her understanding is that the employee layoffs are based on enrollment and demographics of the district, which, she added, always needs to be the guiding light.
“These are not arbitrary cuts. It’s not like we need to make up money, so let’s go and find three FTEs,” she said. “It’s what the data is leading us to do.”
The district community will get a survey questionnaire in early May on the operational referendum. The results of the survey are expected to finalized in June. If the response rate is in favor of holding the referendum, it will be on the ballot in November.
