Byron school board gives OK to levy referendum vote

Members of the Byron school board moved ahead with plans to put a 10-year operating tax levy of $800per pupil on the November 5 ballot. The board unanimously approved the levy at a meeting Monday night. District officials will now work out the exact numbers and wording for the ballot question and the board will finalize the referendum at their August 5 meeting.

If the levy referendum gets voter approval in November, the district will receive an estimated $1.9 million each year for 10 years. Even with the levy, the district will have to cut an additional $1 million from the budget as the district works to get the district’s General Fund balance back to 8 percent.

The decision comes after the district faced a shortfall of more than $1.5 million in last year’s budget resulting in major cuts in this year’s budget.

The district has said the shortfall resulted from a combination of miscalculations, increases in the costs of insurance, general inflation, state mandates and state funding amounts. If the levy and additional cuts are not put in place, Supt. Dr. Mike Neubeck said, the district’s General Fund balance will continue to drop, and the district could be in Statutory Operating Debt in three years.

School officials told board members that if the levy is not approved the resulting cuts would be equivalent to cutting 28 teacher positions from the district. The cuts would actually be across all areas of district operation, Neubeck said.