Wilson said when they started to examine the budget that they saw a deficit of $3.6-3.8 million.
But through staff cuts and not filling vacant positions, Wilson explained, as well as other cost cutting measures, they were able to trim nearly $2.4 million from that deficit.
The superintendent said he will be asking the Board to authorize a 1-mil roll up on the education portion of the tax.
Wilson said with property values declining the roll up doesn't necessarily mean tax bills will go up.
Wilson said, "They have the ability to roll up 1.7-mils based on the loss of taxes. Remember, 'roll the mill' just means, if we rolled up completely the 1.7-mils, I would pay exactly the same as last year."
"The fact that we're only rolling up a portion of that means most property owners will see a reduction in their property taxes."
Wilson said the remaining funds will be made up from a fund balance.
Regarding the fund balance, Wilson said it is well below what auditors recommend for the school operation and they hope to begin building up that fund over the next few years.
The Board of Education will hold a called meeting on June 7th at which time they will get a detailed look at the budget.
Meanwhile, the Board is expected to approve a tentative budget that will be put before the public for review prior to final approval by the board on June 28th.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2012/5/249015