Hot Springs School asks for $150,000 levy

Thirty-two people showed up for a Hot Springs community meeting last Wednesday put on by School District 14-J in an effort to educate the public about a proposed levy that the school needs in order to avoid program and teacher cuts.

Hot Springs Superintendent Gerald Chouinard led the meeting, backed by Principal Byron Woods and school board members Dirk Roosma, Cam Ulvick, Julie White, Jen Christensen and Chairman Ricky DePoe.

The school is asking voters to approve a $150,000 levy for the 2023-2024 school year to help "recruit and retain highly qualified educational staff, support student learning, student success and general operational and maintenance costs," said the notice by the school. Chouinard said the school actually needs $1,975,008 to operate next year and the maximum amount allowed by the state is $1,774,665, which is based on the number of taxpayers in the Hot Springs School District.

"We concluded based on survey data, and based on discussion we felt we could work with cost savings measures and concluded that we were going to ask for $150,000, which is 65.6 mils within our limit," said Chouinard, who's been the superintendent for three years. "That would be $9,105 per student," he told the crowd, which included nearly 10 active and retired teachers at the hour-long meeting in the school gymnasium. Chouinard broke down the projected costs with $1,160,845 (59%) going into general education, $400,786 (23%) for administration, $273,236 (14%) for operation and maintenance, and $140,141 (7%) for extracurricular activities.

He said that the levy goes toward the school's general fund, which is associated with the education of the local students, such as instructional, administration, curriculum materials, textbooks, support staff, and the building's power and water. Administration costs cover employment of the superintendent, principal, two secretaries, and clerk/business manager. Chouinard said the money from the levy wouldn't cover other school costs, such as the bus depreciation fund, transportation fund, adult education fund, technology fund, the "obsolete and failing food service equipment," repairs to the high school heating system or the repayment of the gymnasium bond.

The school had already sent out a survey to the 1,100 taxpayers, but DePoe said the bulk of the responses were negative, which is one of the reasons for the community meeting. "We're not trying to hide anything. With the levy people think we're trying to sneak something over, but we're not, it's just about the school," said DePoe, who was pleased to see so many staff members and teachers present at the meeting. The board chairman said the positive input from those at the meeting gave him hope that maybe the levy would pass.

In March, the school board unanimously voted on the requested amount. Ballots for the levy will be mailed Friday and the vote will be tallied on May 2. The last school levy was for $30,000 in 2019 and failed, primarily because the community was not educated about it and it was not sufficiently advertised, according to DePoe. In 2008, a $40,000 levy passed. DePoe said the board is trying to do a better job of telling people about this levy and explaining how important it is to the school and students. The school is also mailing each of the voters a comprehensive breakdown of what the money would be used for.

DePoe, a 1998 graduate, said it's important to remind people of the quality of former Hot Springs students, present students and students of the future. "Anything we can do to get this to go through will be a big help, but we need to get the word out," said DePoe.

The superintendent said they are looking at major reduction measures if the levy doesn't pass, including cutting programs, increasing extracurricular activity charges and limiting the use of the facilities, inside and out. In addition, they might not be able to fill the four teaching vacancies. Chouinard said they've already interviewed several candidates and have recommended two people, but he said he would like to fill all four vacancies.

People in the audience asked if they have decided what positions they plan to cut and if they've considered combining classes. Chouinard said he couldn't comment at the time whether or not they're going to combine classes, but added that it's not off the table. He added that they'll know later in the spring which positions they will have to cut if the levy doesn't pass. "It's not necessarily anything that we're planning at this point and time, but at the same token if we're looking at this possible deficit and the possibility of the levy not passing everything must be on the table at this time," said Chouinard.

"If the levy passes, we would put a dent in that at a figure of $916 per student. That would leave us with $304 per student, which is where we come up with the $50,000 of cuts that we still will be focusing on as a board," he said.

"Based on the figures you have here, like on a $200,000 home or a $100,000 home, you're talking about a daily cost that's less than a can of beer or a candy bar," said Hot Springs resident John Marshall. "You're talking about 67 cents or 75 cents a day, so to make sure the kids in the community are educated properly it's going to cost each one of us less than a cost of a candy bar or a can of beer," said Marshall, who has lived in Hot Springs for over 20 years.

"I've got no skin in the game. I've got no kids so I've never had any kids that attended this school and I'll never have any kids that will attend this school," said Marshall. He added that he'd like to see it get fully funded and believes that as a resident of Hot Springs he should contribute to the community.

Chouinard noted that presently each taxpayer contributes $1,718 per student and if passed the taxpayers' increase would be $101.49 (28 cents per day) on a $100,000 home, and $202.98 (56 cents per day) on a $200,000 home.

One man asked if it would be illegal or unethical for the school board, principal and superintendent to encourage the students to go on strike if the levy wasn't passed. Chouinard said it would be illegal for school staff or teachers to promote such a measure. "It's important that we continue to remind ourselves that the education that the children receive today is as good as it was when we were kids," said the superintendent, who also told the audience not to hesitate to call or visit him with any questions about the levy.