That Instructional Support Levy (ISL) has proved the source of much debate. Two LCS School Board members -- Patrick Murphy and Mark Stelzer -- sat down with the Daily Sentinel editorial staff to talk through some of the questions about the levy.

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How did the school's budget get to where it is now?

The board members pointed back to 2002.

"When we first added all-day, every day kindergarten, we did not have enough money to do that. We used operating fund money because we believed it was important," Stelzer said. "We've added extra sections and had lower class sizes."

The board did not raise taxes at that time, he said, but chose to spend down the operating fund balance.

Then enrollment declined by roughly 30 two years ago and 80 last year, which caused LCS to get less state funding, leaving the district in need of cutting back.

Didn't the state increase how much funding schools get?

Yes, the amount of money the state gives each school per student increased by nearly 4 percent. However, because that money is given on a per-student basis, with declining enrollment, LCS's portion of that was trimmed back.

"The increase in state aid for the 08-09 school year should have been 3.9 percent. We got .92 percent," Murphy explained. Our state aid is almost exactly the same as last year."

"The state provides a huge amount of support, but they don't do everything. State aid is not enough for everything we do," Stelzer said. "It never has been."

"The ISL allows individual districts to get what they need rather than a blanket amount that the state gives everyone," Stelzer continued. "They want us to levy just what we need."

Why did enrollment drop so quickly?

"We (Le Mars) are a transient community, people leave and people come. There is no one reason for the drop. Families come and go in the district," Murphy said. "I harped at board meetings for years that we have to watch that student count."

"And we did and it was stable," Stelzer added.

"It wasn't unrealistic to see an 80-kid drop. It scared us," Murphy said. "But that's why we had the administration really pursue that and go through who left and what happened and give us a report. There was no one reason for that 80-person drop. Some families with three to four kids, some with one or two, in all grade levels, were coming and going," Murphy said.

"That also means that the state of Iowa is in trouble with population," Murphy continued. Most every school district in Iowa, with the exception of a few large ones, are going to experience declining enrollment in the next decade, he said, "and the Iowa Legislature needs to find a way to address it."

Why are you bringing the ISL back for vote again so soon?

The longer the district waits to pass the ISL, the more cuts the district will see in the meantime as the board works to make the budget work, the board members explained.

"We've already got a 2-3 year delay (for the money to come in) by losing it in March," Stelzer said. "If it had passed in March, it would have been reflected in the property tax statements already from this summer. We would have had some money for support already by the end of this year. It would have started us climbing out of the hole by next spring. Now it's going to be at least the spring of 2010."

"We had to cut down a huge amount this last academic year. We'll have to do it again this year, no matter what, and the best we can hope for is to start recovering soon. The promise of funding can help us say, OK, we can get through this year and it's going to start coming back," Stelzer said

"I'm going to bring it back every time as quickly as we can until we know it's not going to work or it's going to work. It takes so long to get the thing to work," Murphy added.

If we can afford building projects, why not teachers and books?

Building projects are paid for out of a fund that is kept entirely separate by law from the money that pays for teachers, books, programs, etc.

Building projects are paid out of the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) fund, Murphy explained.

"We're not rich in that fund but we know that we have adequate resources in that fund for at least the next 10 years that we'll be fine. That money cannot be transferred to the general fund by law. It is stupid, but it's the law," he said.

If the ISL is approved, what will happen?

"If it passes, we will still have a hard year for this fall and next spring for the 2009-10 fiscal year. I don't think there will be any major changes in programming. The board is committed to a balanced budget," said Murphy.

By 2010-11, the board hopes to revisit some of the programs that were cut.

Will the programs that were cut get reinstated?

"If the ISL passes (in September), my hope would be during the 2010-11 academic year, if we have stability in student count, we could reincorporate a few of the programs we've lost," said Murphy. "I want to make the senior high school kids a priority, make sure we try to keep the T & I program."

Both Murphy and Stelzer agree that the programs will probably not be reinstated in the same form that they were before the cuts.

Isn't the ISL like giving a blank check to the school board?

"For one thing, I don't believe there's any blank check in the school finance at all. We are tremendously regulated by how much we can do," Stelzer said. "The blank check is only blank in so far that we have a small range that we can use. It's a very limited and all absolutely completely in the open. You're going to know exactly what we're doing.

"And we don't have free range to say whatever we want to. It's limited to a certain amount, a certain time frame as far as years that we can do it and the 10 percent of the operating budget is a number that they can come up with and they will know exactly what we want," he continued.

"We're hoping to go well below that, but in quite a number of these districts from the numbers that they have, are at the maximum they can levy," Stelzer said.

"There is, in effect, what someone could consider a blank check for up to 10 percent of the present, existing general fund, that is true," said Murphy.

"Now, because of the flexibility that we've afforded ourselves in the resolution, as I said you can levy nothing or you can levy up to 10 percent. There no question about it. Remember, that money doesn't go into the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) fund or the infrastructure fund, it goes to the general fund only. So it has to be used for academic services," Murphy said.

If the ISL fails, what will happen?

"If the ISL fails and we have a loss of students, this board will have many meetings between October and March," said Murphy. "We will look at the middle school teachers and the whole teaming concept there. In the elementary, we will look at expanding class sizes and discharging teachers. We will need to look at the attendance centers."

"We will have to look at everything such as larger class sizes, and personnel cuts in the middle school and high school," Stelzer said.

How much will the ISL cost me?

"The ISL is asking something from everyone as opposed to a large amount," Stelzer said. The two used as an example the 5-percent ISL levy the board planned to use for the 2008-09 school year.

On the average house valued at $100,000 in the Le Mars Community School District, the tax levy would be $20-$22 per year, Stelzer explained.

"That's a doable amount for most people, including retired folks with no income. Those same folks with no income won't owe for the Iowa income tax surtax because they don't pay income tax," Stelzer said.

"For those of us still working, look at your Iowa income tax return to see what you paid to the state in the last year. If it was $1,000, then you pay $20 in surtax," Stelzer said. That represents a 2 percent income surtax.

For ag land owners, the tax increase is 37 cents per acre, based on the $822 per acre average (production value, not market value), as determined by the Plymouth County Assessor.

Commercial property increase would be $50 per $100,000 value under the board's plan.

Why did the school district buy the former Wells' Corporate Headquarters now?

"We had been negotiating with Wells' Dairy and talking with those people three years prior to when they started the plans for that building to see if we could get an administrative building," Murphy said. "That money comes out of the PPEL fund."

That fund, kept entirely separate from the fund that pays for teacher salaries and programs by law, has sufficient money for projects into the future, he said.

Can booster clubs and fundraisers help pay for these programs?

"We can't count on them for the general fund," said Murphy. "(Their contribution) is an add-on."

"They talk about it as we do the main course for student education and they (booster clubs) add some gravy," Stelzer said.

"The Music Boosters pay for choir robes and band uniforms. It's not required by state mandate to have and it isn't part of the curriculum, but it sure is nice for them to have," Stelzer said. "That by total budget amount is not that much. And could the booster clubs do that much, like pay for salaries. No, it's just too big a dollar amount to ask of them."

"They certainly have the right to make a contribution to the school general fund, whatever they can, and that's what they basically do," said Murphy.

Why not sell school property like Camp Quest?

"The school does own 20 acres of land on 12th Street Southeast, which is leased to the city of Le Mars for a borrow pit," Murphy said. "In exchange, our vocational ag students lease land on Highway 3 West. We also have Camp Quest immediate east of town.

"We've been asked why don't you sell those immediately, get funds, take care of this stuff and pay teachers," Murphy said. "You folks know the answer already -- the money doesn't go back into the general fund."

"I've suggested we consider the sale of some of these properties, and make the district leaner, but today is not the day to do it. The market is not advantageous," Murphy said. "All those issues are being looked at."

What about the Phase II construction project?

"We haven't addressed that as a board," said Stelzer. "At this moment in time, even though it's still a very good idea and a lot of people in the community really, really want us to go ahead, I think we need to do one significant issue or battle at a time. We need to reaffirm the support of our community for education. I believe we've always had it," Stelzer said.

"I don't see that competition gym being built for some time," said Murphy.

"The project includes not only a competition gym but classrooms, wrestling and music rooms and new locker rooms. It would be a big asset to the community," said Stelzer.

How many schools in the area use the ISL?

The Le Mars Community School District is the only district in Plymouth County and Sioux County that does not have the ISL. Le Mars Community is also the only district in the Lakes Conference that does not have the ISL in place.

In the top 15 3A schools in the state of Iowa, Le Mars Community is one of three that does not have ISL funding as part of its general fund budget.

The Le Mars Community Schools board of education made two rounds of cuts to balance the 2008-09 fiscal year budget.

On Jan. 14, 2008, cuts totaling $480,000, were:

* Reduce two (2.0) Elementary Teachers @ $60,000 per teacher - $120,000

* Reduce one (1.0) Middle School Teacher @ $60,000 per teacher $60,000

* Reduce Central Office Administrator (assistant superintendent of operations) - $110,000

* Reduce Aide Time by 100 hours per week - $50,000

* Discontinue one day Professional Development - $45,000

* No New Textbook Purchase (for one year only) - $65,000

* Eliminate the Activity Busses - $15,000

* Reduce Building Budgets - $15,000

Total - $480,000

On April 7, following the defeat of the ISL by district voters, the board made the following cuts, totaling $254,000:

Reduce Elementary Guidance - $56,000

Eliminate T & I (welding only) - $50,000

Eliminate TK - $60,000

Eliminate 1/2 time music position - $30,000

Eliminate High School Tutorial Program - $22,000

Eliminate School Liaison - $20,000

Eliminate High School TAPS - $16,000

Total - $254,000

Total cuts for the 2008-09 school year: $734,000

(The information published in Monday's edition incorrectly identified the cuts as being for the 2009-10 school year.)