The Altoona School District’s expenditure report for 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. Click here to download.

The City of Altoona’s budget comparison report for 2009. Click here to download.

   During the first meeting of the Altoona Board of Education for 2009, the agenda was fairly short and members moved though information quickly.

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   During the Altoona School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, December 15, board members heard updates from both the planning council and policy committee meetings held earlier in December. Among those updates was the approval of a Personal Finance Course worth 0.5 credit, which is now a graduation requirement for Altoona High School students.

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   During the Altoona School District Board of Education Meeting on Monday, December 1, members viewed the latest installment of the “Rails Review” a twice-monthly production produced, directed, and starring Altoona Middle School students.
   The most recent production featured student council members that attended the Wisconsin Association of School Councils Region 1 Fall Summit on Wednesday, November 12 in Eau Claire. Five to six hundred area student council members attended the conference, which featured motivational speakers to inspire the students. The conference was hosted by the AMS student council and the Spring Valley High School student council members.     

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   At the Altoona School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, November 17, board members who also belong to the Altoona Education Foundation updated their peers on a potential change that foundation members discussed at their November meeting: In an effort to better contribute to the community, and maintain the attention of a wider scope of potential investors, the foundation may go public.

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   Budgeted expenses for the Altoona School District can be broken down into the following categories:
   Salaries. Payroll for district employees takes up the largest percentage of the budget at 43 percent, two percent lower than what the district spent last year.
   Benefits. Twenty-six percent will be spent on payments to the Wisconsin Retirement System, Social Security, and insurance for health, dental, life, long-term care, and disability. The district spent 25 percent last year.
   Purchased Services. Eleven percent of the budget will be spent on purchased services like electric, gas, water, and sewer utilities this year. These prices rose almost $200,000 from the 2007-2008 school year.
   Supplies. Supplies include paper, staples, pens, markers, and other everyday items used in classrooms and offices. The district also allotted three percent to this category last year.
   Capital Objects. This year, the district will spend one percent of its budget on desks, computers, and other technological supplies – the same amount spent last year. According to Dahl, this is one category where major cuts have been made.
   Interest on Debt. Five percent of the budget will be spent paying off debt interest, including the 4.1 percent interest on the $1.5 million just borrowed from Robert W. Baird.
   Transfers to Other Funds. The district receives some state aid to pay for special education courses, and everything not covered by that must be transferred out of general funds. This year, the district will transfer 10 percent of their budget to pay for special education.
   Other Objects. Other objects, like Dahl’s membership fees to the Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials (WASBO), account for almost zero percent of the district’s budget.

   Preschool-aged children in the Altoona School District are now one step closer to having a four-year-old kindergarten program to enroll in. On Monday, October 20, the Altoona School District Board of Education approved the implementation of an early education program for the 2010-2011 school year.

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   At the Altoona School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, October 6, members approved a bid from Eau Claire-based B&B Electric to upgrade the lights in the district’s technical education classroom and gymnasiums at a cost of $32,250 – almost $30,000 less than the original estimate of $50,000 to $60,000. Furthermore, the district qualifies to receive an additional $13,000 grant from Focus on Energy if they complete the lighting upgrade by December 15.

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   The Altoona School District continued its pursuit to become a “greener” district at the Board of Education meeting on Monday, September 8. There, board members heard a proposal from CESA 10’s Focus on Energy Advisor Steve Craker to retrofit the gyms and technical education areas with new lighting systems – a move that could save the district at least $7,000 in annual energy costs.

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