As promised last spring and again at the start of the school year, the district is distributing information to the community regarding the levy referendum vote to be conducted in conjunction with the national presidential election on November 4.  This provides school owners a chance to size-up the district in multiple ways.  While I would hope stakeholders are constantly sizing-up the district, in reality I know that is simply not the case for whatever reason that might be.

Last November, resident voters sized-up the district and decided we needed to "tighten our belts" even more by electing not to pass the levy referendum on the ballot. While not all residents shared this sentiment, the school board kept their word and reduced the budget for the 2008-09 school year by the maximum amount of $1.825 million. Valued staff members lost their jobs, services for students were weakened, and new and increased fees were put into place for student parking and activities. In 2007-08, the district tightened the budget belt on hiring staff, supplies and a transportation contract that collectively saved the district $1.23 million. Another $1.595 million will be reduced next year should the levy referendum fail again.

Another way to size-up the district is by looking at how we compare to those surrounding BHM and metro districts of similar size.  If you look at the 2008-09 Levy Referendum Amounts per Student Chart, the current BHM levy amount per student is well below the state average and many other districts. With the additional $339 per student the district is asking with this levy referendum, BHM will be more in line with our northern neighbor of Monticello, but still well below some similar sized metro districts. There are 40 districts going out for a levy this fall, including a few on the chart below. Our spending per student will still be below those districts, should the levy pass this November.

As a tax paying resident, you could also size-up the district by comparing how we spend our budget. In this Insider, we have broken down for you how we spend each dollar. Once again we meet and beat the governor's expectation on spending in the classroom and direct student instruction ($.70 out of a dollar) by spending $.75 per dollar. In regards to other spending, BHM ranks a low 151 out of 165 districts, with over 1,000 students, on district administrative expenses and 163 out of 165 on school level administration (principals) expenses per student. For our district, that means only $.05 out of a dollar is spent on administrative expenses.

Others could size-up the district based on student performance and successes. This district has a high graduation rate; over 97  percent. BHM high school students perform at or above the state average on ACT tests. Our students also score well on in-district MAP tests and overall are above the state average on MCA-II required testing for graduation and No Child Left Behind status. The academic successes spill over into athletic and activity successes with BHM students excelling into regional, state and even national competitions.

As a resident of the school district and a school owner, I ask that you take the time to size-up the district and review the information available before you enter the voting booth on November 4. Residents will need to ask themselves, "Can we afford to provide the additional revenue by increasing local taxes, or does the district need to, once again, tighten its budget belt and cut expenditures for a third year which will reduce programs, services, and personnel." Either way you size it up, you get to decide.