District 88 Board approves audit figures, clerical staff contract

By ERIC SERRANO

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The District 88 school board breezed through a light agenda Thursday night, approving an audit of its 1998-99 spending and ratifying a two-year bargaining agreement with secretarial and clerical staff.

The audit of the district's books was conducted by Peterson and Co., PA of Mankato.

Peterson CPA Robert Qualset told the board the district's finances appear solid with a June 30, 1999, ending general fund, unreserved balance of $1,931,188. At the same time last year, the district was carrying a general fund balance of $2,484,690.

In reviewing the district's tax revenue, Qualset said, the district is expected to take in roughly $849,000 less in income drawn from the local tax rolls. A large part of that shortfall will be made up by a state-sponsored Education Homestead Credit (EHC), he said.

EHC will vary from year to year, based on the mandate of state legislators. Last year lawmakers opted to increase the amount of EHC meted to school districts, enabling those districts to decrease the size of their excess operating levies, Qualset told the board.

"I tell you this because, right now the state is flush. But, I'm warning districts that that won't last forever," he said.

"There really is no way to prepare for what happens with the credit, because it's done by the Legislature," Superintendent Harold Remme told the board.

"While we were able to lower our excess levy in this particular year, we can't pat ourselves on the back too much. (EHC) is not additional dollars, the money just comes from somewhere else (the state). What we would like district residents to remember is that when the state can't do this in the future we aren't the ones to blame either if their taxes go up (two years ago the EHC was zero)," he added.

The board also unanimously approved a two-year collective bargaining agreement with the 24 members of the district's School Service Employees Union, which represents clerical and secretarial staff.

The contract represents an 8 percent hike over the term of the agreement -- 5.17 percent in the first year, and 3.54 percent in the second year -- and includes some adjustments in comparable worth figures and insurance for a total of $51,501 over the previous contract, board member and district negotiator Gene Forstner said.

"It's in line with the agreements we've made with the other groups we've settled with," he said.

Settlement of the clerks and secretaries contract leaves only New Ulm Education Association teachers yet to reach a bargaining agreement with the district. The two sides have three negotiation sessions scheduled before the end of the year.