Esko levy up 1.7 percent, boys swimming approved

Esko administrators and school board members know there will be at least one certain resident at their annual truth-in-taxation hearing. John Luomala didn't disappoint; he was the only resident there Monday.

The board didn't disappoint Luomala either, eventually adopting a levy increase of 1.7 percent.

Esko superintendent Aaron Fischer went through budget and tax levy highlights with the board.

Esko School district taxpayers will see an increase of 1.7 percent in their school tax levy in 2022. The payable 2022 tax levy of $2,132,099 makes up 14 percent of the district's overall revenue of $15,215,941. State sources provide 76 percent of revenues, at over $11.5 million. Federal sources make up $626,892 of funding.

"Basically Esko schools are funded by the state," said Esko superintendent Aaron Fischer, explaining that Esko schools get less federal funding than some area schools because they have fewer students who qualify for free and reduced lunches.

More than 76 percent of expenses go toward staff salaries, wages and benefits.

"If you look at the top eight categories, it's people we're paying for, which makes sense in school," Fischer said.

Expenses for 2021-21 were expected to exceed revenues by nearly $120,000. Fischer was not overly concerned about the deficit, stressing that the numbers are preliminary. "It gives us an idea of where we're going and could be true, but there are a lot of unknowns now," he said.

After all the presentations, Luomala held up a Pine Knot newspaper clipping with a graph of the Esko School district revenues and expenditures for fiscal year 2021 and 2022 and praised the board.

"I'd like to congratulate the school board's management," Luomala said, pointing to the operating cost per average daily membership, or ADM. The chart showed cost per ADM at $10,988 for fiscal year 2021. Previously Fischer shared a graph of similar sized districts by "final adjusted ADM," essentially student count, and Esko had the lowest levy of all five, even those with fewer students.

In other matters Monday:

-The board approved collaborating with Proctor for the boys swim team on top of the existing combined golf team.

-A crowd of roughly 10 parents, many of them with children in tow, attended Monday's meeting to ask the board to make mask-wearing optional for elementary school students. It's been a consistent request at Esko board meetings. The board didn't make any changes to its mandate for masks at the elementary school level or optional masks at the secondary level. Fischer said the parents and children were very respectful and shared their viewpoints well.