1. (This slide should be on the screen 30 minutes prior to the start of the meeting while participants arrive and take their seats at their assigned tables.)
Task force meeting May 18, 2017

2. St. Joseph School District Local Property Tax Operating Revenue: History/Projections
This graph shows the actual dollar impact of the tax rate lowering by 63 cents. This resulted in approximately a $6 million dollar annual loss of revenue beginning in the school year. Thinking about this in simple terms — that revenue amounts to the salaries of 100 teachers who earn 60,000 per year.
Knowing this, the District has taken action to increase efficiencies and made some reductions in programs and services to save some money.
However, for the most part, in order to keep a strong educational program for our boys and girls we are continuing to fund our schools in a way to not hurt students by spending our reserves.

3. St. Joseph School District Fund Balances: History/Projections
DESE recommended
fund balance
The Missouri Department of Education recommends that all school districts maintain 20% of their funds in a reserve (fund balance) account for cash flow and emergency purposes. At the current rate of spending and revenue, we will go below that level during the school year. If our balances continue to decline, the district will be placed on the state’s financial ‘watch’ list. That means the district must begin to take measures to correct the problem. Without increased revenue, that means major cuts. If that percentage continues to go down (or eventually does not start going back up) the State can take over the district.
As I said, according to the projections there will be no reserve funds left by 2020.
You can see from this graph that unless the District receives additional revenue or makes some drastic reductions in programs and services over the next few years the District will basically be broke.
Since this cannot happen the District and community must take action to correct this trend. And that’s what we are here to talk about
DESE financial
distress list
Risk of state takeover

4. School district funds Operating Fund (Incidental Fund) (Fund 1)
Special Revenue Fund (Teachers Fund) (Fund 2)
Debt Service Fund (Fund 3)
Capital Projects Fund (Fund 4)
Nutrition Service Fund (Fund 5 – Subset of Fund 1)
Student Activity Fund (Fund 6 – Subset of Fund 1)
Bond Projects Fund (Fund 9 – Subset of Fund 4)
Specific accounting codes are used to determine into which fund money flows and from which fund payments are made

5. Sources of revenue (2015-16) St. Joseph State Average
Local %* %*
State % %
Federal 8.59% %
*Includes Proposition C revenues

6. PROPosition C One-cent sales tax approved by voters in 1982
One-half of funds used for district expenses, the other half used to reduce property taxes
SJSD passed an issue several years ago waiving the use of these funds to reduce property taxes
All Prop C funds may be used in SJSD for operational costs.
75% of Prop C must be placed in the teachers fund.
*The district is currently placing 100% of the funds in the teacher fund
Last year, SJSD received $11,429, from Prop C

7. Districts with lease certificates of participation

8. Bond capacity 15% of Assessed Valuation $1Billion Assessed Valuation
$150M Bonding Capacity
Currently - $50M

10. Sjsd by the numbers
Based on enrollment/total budget, the current per-pupil expenditure per average daily attendance in the SJSD is about $9,645

11. PARENT/COMMUNITY Expectations
What is important for quality education?
What does that mean in terms of support?
What steps should be taken for the future?
The third, and most important, objective of the One Vision community engagement is to learn what parents and the community expects of the District over the next few years. This is why it is so vitally important that you are here to provide your input. We need to know what kind of district you want for the future. To do that we want you to work in groups to develop a list of what we are calling ‘Guiding Principles.’

12. Your Vision… Leading to One Vision
Our work activity for you is to have you identify and list Guiding Principles (expectations) that are important to you…in essence to identify your vision for your school and District. The Guiding Principles you develop will be merged with principles developed by parents and community members attending meetings at schools throughout the District. The goal is to develop and prioritize the principles to create a unified…one…vision for the future of the District.