As Byron Public Schools nears November referendum, it aims to reassure voters of financial handling
BYRON, Minn. — At the same time Byron Public Schools is asking voters to provide more funding for the school district, its leadership is trying to reassure the public about its financial situation.
Superintendent Mike Neubeck said the administration is waiting to reconcile last year's budget before releasing more information about what potential future cuts could include.
"We understand that many are eager for updates regarding our financial position," Neubeck said in the statement. "We are committed to providing accurate and validated information, and therefore cannot release any details until the process is fully complete."
The district cut $1.5 million from its budget for the 2024-25 year. If things don't change, it will have to make even more cuts for the year ahead, which is why the district is turning to voters for more funding.
The district announced in July that it would be asking voters to approve an operating levy of $800 per student to support the district's day-to-day operations. Based on the district's current enrollment, that would amount to roughly $1.9 million a year.
Some of the need for cuts has come from external financial pressures, such as double-digit increases to the district's health insurance costs, and new mandates that have come down from the state Legislature.
However, the district announced during the 2023-24 year that it had detected an error in its calculation for the budget, which required the district to start looking at reductions last spring.
Adding to the turbulence has been the turnover of financial directors over the last year. On Aug. 24, Neubeck announced Financial Director Ashley Bocchi would be leaving the district. She first accepted the role in February 2024. Neubeck credited her for her "crucial role in identifying key financial challenges within our district."
The district is now working with an interim finance director, Julie Cink, who is working with Byron Public Schools three days a week.
Neubeck told the Post Bulletin that the district has started putting more controls over its financial process, such as increasing the number of people who can monitor the district's resources to have "more eyes on it." He also said the district is changing the way it does its financial reporting to the school board and the community.
That's something he's been emphasizing in recent months, such as in a community update he released in July.
"We are also learning of accounting practices that need to be changed and improved moving forward," Neubeck wrote this summer in an update to the community. "We have taken the necessary steps to make sure that the numbers from the 2023-24 school year are valid and all information is known as we move forward."
November's referendum will be just the latest in a series of requests that the district has made of its community. Between 2020 and 2021, the district put three different construction bonds before voters, the first two of which failed. The third one passed, providing $44 million for improvements around the district.
Although it would provide a different kind of funding — revenue for daily expenses rather than construction projects — November's referendum nonetheless will be the fourth time in four years the district has asked voters to increase their level of funding for the district.
The financial situation has prompted scrutiny from the public about how the district has handled the situation. Former school board member, Chris Schmit, sent a letter to the district's school board, calling for the termination of Neubeck.
"I believe that Dr. Neubeck is doing far more harm than good for our district," Schmit told the school board members in an email she shared with the media.
Byron School Board President Duane Quam III declined to comment on the district's financial situation. Even though school board members are elected officials, he stated the district's policy is for the superintendent to handle media inquiries.
Neubeck responded to the email, challenging some of the claims she had made about the process.
"I know what the challenges are ahead of us," Neubeck said. "And I'm doing everything I can to make sure that we reach financial stability again."
