Listening to the attorney made me realize the danger of having balances that appear TOO healthy. Anytime a district has a nice little nest egg set aside it creates the impression that they are holding out on the union. This makes membership feel like the district is "winning" with regards to negtiations. This normally results in them digging their heels in a little bit to get themselves a bigger piece of the pie.
This further deepens my belief to have healthy balances but not too healthy. Only ask the tax payers for what you need and then the union cannot ask you for more than you have.
Tim,
ReplyDeleteWhat is a healthy fund balance? When do you start sharing the wealth?
Schurm
I think the definitions of both are relative to current financial and political climates. If I were negotiating as a supt this FY, I can rationalize high fund balances due to the financial uncertainty of the state. As far as sharing the wealth, to me it is just a matter of being in a position to compete with neighboring districts (teacher salary wise) while remaining at a fairly consistent taxation level so that the general public can do some long-term personal financial planning of their own.
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