(West Bend)– A northwest Iowa community on the verge of losing its school has some new hope thanks to a successful fundraising effort.
Enrollment in the West Bend-Mallard school district in 1995 was at 495 students. In 2005 it had plummeted to just 331. Since then, the district has seen its enrollment increase slightly, and another small increase is predicted for this coming school year.
But school officials say the years of low enrollment, a very low unspent balance, sharply higher energy costs and higher insurance are threatening the school’s very existence.
West Bend-Mallard went before the School Budget Review Committee the past three years requesting modified allowable growth, and submitted plans to get the district back on a balanced budget.
The district was granted the requests the first two years. However, the SBRC did NOT approve the negative 326,552-dollars the district spent in the 2006-2007 school year. That unspent balance reduced the spending authority for the district for the 2007-2008 school year, causing an estimated unspent balance of a negative 700-thousand dollars as of this past June 30th.
A facilities study committee was formed, and the West Bend-Mallard school board continues to search for additional ways to reduce operating costs, on top of staff reductions already made for the upcoming school year.
Meanwhile, the West Bend-Mallard Foundation announced recently it’s raised almost 853-thousand dollars to help the district get through the 2008-2009 school year. Their goal was 850-thousand. They raised the money in just 18 days.
