As anyone who has bought a new home can attest to, the building is just part of the expense. That’s the case for the Watonga School District as well.
When it met Monday in regular session, there were multiple items on the agenda dealing with decking out the construction projects which have been accomplished with bond issue funding.
For example, there is the cost of a portable stage to use in the new gym, at a cost of $22,007 and new chairs costing slightly north of $25,000. Additional furniture such as desks, chairs and tables for the elementary classrooms came in at almost $98,000.
The board had previously made the decision to purchase new wrestling mats for the gym, relegating the old mats to the wrestling room and relieving the staff of having to move them from building to building during matches or meets. One mat had been generously donated, but the board approved the expense of the new mats at $34,503.
Not all the expenses had to do with new buildings, though. The district is in the process of upgrading the technology supplied to teachers and this year that meant new Surface Pro laptops for about half the staff. Half the staff received new computers last year as well, meaning that now all teachers have less than 2-year-old technology. The laptops cost some $46,654.
The real whoppers on the list, though, were for the outdoors.
The high school track is around 30 years old for the most part, although some was replaced in 2007 following hurricane and flood damage.
Five companies were contacted to issue bids on resurfacing the track. It was later determined that the bids should be broken into two parts, one for worse-case scenario on replacing two inches of the asphalt base and the other for resurfacing the track.
“There is no way to know the state of the asphalt until the urethane surface is removed,” said Superintendent Kyle Hilterbran.
State championship winning track coach Jim Bob Coleman had significant input on the track and its design. He had several teams that competed on tracks built by various bidders, but greatly preferred ones built by Beynon Sports, who turned out to be the low bid.
Between the potential cost for asphalt, also to be laid by a subsidiary of Beynon and the track surface itself, the board set aside $578,600 for the work.
Those expenditures might beg the question where all the money is coming from.
Hilterbran showed the board the recent jump in gross production tax, the fee paid by oil and gas companies when they harvest natural resources in Oklahoma. Because of the downturn in exploration in the early part of the fiscal year (July-June) the budget had ratcheted back its expectations to $150,000 per month.
However, with the exception of one month, the payments had been significantly more than that, with the most recent payment coming in at $245,356. Year to date the payments have amounted to $1.8 million, with expectations resting at $2.2 million.
The estimated ad valorem taxes for the year, interest earnings, and insurance reimbursement for damages expected total some $4.8 million. The revenue thus far in the year comes to $6.9 million, ending the fiscal year estimated revenue at about $10.9 million.
That doesn’t mean the district is going hog wild with spending though.
Board member Aaron Clewell pointed out with recent years’ revenue including enormous insurance payouts -$4 million last year- and COVID relief funds sent to the schools, it was difficult to know what a ‘normal’ year looked like.
He asked if cuts to the federal budget instituted by the Trump administration could affect the school’s budget.
Hilterbran conceded it could impact the income somewhat but did not think the Title I funding – to provide equal educational opportunities for students from low-income families – or Title VI, which is part of the Civil Rights Act and addresses education for Native students, would be changed.
“But we will still try to be fiscally responsible,” he said. “Especially in staffing. If one teacher resigns, we aren’t going to hire two teachers.”