Wauwatosa School District budget issues; $4 million mistake

WAUWATOSA, Wis. - The Wauwatosa School District is kicking off the school year with a $4 million mistake. 

There are potential cuts as taxpayers get ready to vote on sending the district more money.

Wauwatosa School District's new Chief Finance and Operations Officer Scot Ecker said his predecessor built a bad budget. That's why the budget for this coming year has the district set to spend $4 million more than expected.

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"I don’t know how anyone can look at this report and think something was going to end correctly," Ecker said.

The district was already set to spend down more than $9 million of its reserves to make up funding that didn't come from the state.

"First problem is we have budgeted deficit spending," Wauwatosa School Board member Michael Meier said.

With the error, the school district will go from needing more than $9 million in reserves to more than $13.5 million.

"Those investments were for teachers and direct impact on students in the classroom," treasurer Liz Heimerl-Rolland said. "Reflect on what it’s going to and underfunding from the legislature, my perspective."

To close the gap, the CFO said the district is looking at short-term borrowing from the state.

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There could also be budget cuts, like employee health premiums, reducing teacher professional development and leaving positions open.

Even then, the district will possibly have to spend nearly $2 million in additional reserves to make up the gap.

"This wasn’t nefarious spending, the budget was put together poorly and nobody knew that," Heimerl-Rolland said.

A $16 million operational referendum will be up to voters this fall. If it doesn't pass, the district will have to make more cuts.

Scot Ecker

There's also a planned capital referendum in 2026.

"And then in 2028, the operating approvals will have to be funded again," Meier said.

You might be wondering how no one caught this.

"We also found out that information has been provided to the board and to our cabinet throughout the school year, never indicating that this miscalculation was in place," Wauwatosa School District Superintendent Demond Means said.

The district has yet to finalize its budget for the upcoming school year. That won't happen until October.

FOX6 News reached out to the district’s former CFO but did not hear back.