Colfax schools try again

A levy figure of $950,000 is on the county April 27 special election ballot for the second Colfax levy after the public voted down a levy of $1.3 million in February.

The levy figure comes in the wake of a series of public meetings in which voters turned out to ask the district about the failed levy and voice opinions on a new figure.

The board came to the $950,000 figure after more than six and a half hours of discussion at a public session in the CHS cafeteria Feb. 27, four hours of which was spent answering questions about school finance to the 20 Colfax voters who attended.

The board officially approved placing the figure on the ballot March 8.

The proposal also includes a $975,000 special levy figure for collection in 2012.

Cuts in excess of $200,000 must be made in the district to keep step with the state cuts to the district, some due to enrollment decline.

The district administration is now finalizing a list of those cuts.

Superintendent Michael Morgan suggested to the school board at the last school board meeting laying off three certified staff and hiring back two classified staff is a better option that “nickel and diming” other school programs to the tune of $200,000.

The levy figure is much lower than the district’s original, failed levy of $1.3 million because the school district is now more certain the state will supply some levy equalization dollars.

The $1.3 million was carrying the amount of the state’s levy equalization to the district, about $325,000 extra, in case the state didn’t pass out the equalization dollars.

More confident they will be receiving that $325,000, the district opted to leave that out of this next levy proposal, dropping the figure to $950,000.

School staff will be notified of any layoffs by May 14.