Posted: Feb. 2, 2010

An updated set of financial projections show that the Elmbrook School District's budget crunch is not quite as bad as previously thought.

The final version of the district's annual financial projection, prepared by PMA Financial Management, decreases Elmbrook's five-year deficit to $15.64 million. The gap shrank $2.56 million from the $18.2 million deficit estimated in a rough draft of the projection released in December.

The new projections show a smaller deficit because several of the assumptions used in the calculations have been made more accurate, said Keith Brightman, district assistant superintendent for finance and operations.

"We obviously have to check the projections and check the results and make sure everything makes sense in it," he said.

When reviewing the calculations used to create the projection draft, Brightman said he noticed that estimates for the cost of the district's staff salaries and benefits were too high. The draft also lowballed a revenue limit exemption the district receives to help pay for special education students.

Still, the deficit is 43 percent larger than what was predicted last year, when the district estimated it would need to trim $10.9 million over five years.

The spike between this year and last year is thanks to larger-than-expected declines in both state aid and student enrollment, Brightman said.

The projection means Elmbrook must cut an average of $3.22 million from its budget each year - assuming the previous years' cuts are sustained - or else find new revenue to make up the difference.

School Board members and district residents are now working to discern which cuts will help close the gap with the least amount of impact on student learning. That work will help update the district's five-year financial plan and be used in the 2010-11 budget process, Brightman said.