Wauwatosa School Board addresses $4 million budget mistake
WAUWATOSA, Wis. - The Wauwatosa School District addressed its $4 million budget mistake on Monday night, Aug. 26. During the meeting, the Wauwatosa School Board approved the 24-25 employee health insurance plan.
During the school board meeting, many taxpayers expressed their concerns.
A big topic was transparency.
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Wauwatosa School District budget issues; $4 million mistake
The Wauwatosa School District is kicking off the school year with a $4 million mistake and there’s potential cuts as taxpayers get ready to vote on sending the district more money.
People who spoke say they want to be able to trust the numbers.
The district's new chief finance and operations officer says his predecessor built a bad budget, particularly overspending on salaries and compensation for employees.
Now the district is set to spend $4 million more than expected this coming school year, which the CFO says is highly abnormal.
Looking at the budget
To close the gap, the CFO says the district is looking at short-term borrowing from the state and possible budget cuts like employee health premiums and leaving positions open.
It comes as taxpayers get ready to vote on sending the district more money in a referendum.
If that doesn't pass, the district will have to make more cuts.
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Wauwatosa School District
The CFO says ways to ensure this doesn't happen again there are more eyes on things, and multiple projections throughout the year.
"Our audit didn’t reveal any inappropriate expenditures. We overspent on approved items, primarily staffing, and I include substitutes," said Scot Ecker, Chief Financial Officer.
If you're someone who wants to see the numbers, the district does post those online.