Questions?
Contact Dr. Tom Williams via email thomas.williams@kirkwoodschools.org
or call 314.213.6102.

The Kirkwood School District is committed to providing the community's children with exceptional educational opportunities and to protecting the community's investment in its schools.

The recent decline in property assessments has impacted everyone in the community.  This decline has also reduced the funding the district receives in operating the schools by approximately $1.7 million.

During these challenging economic times, the district is taking several steps to meet its financial obligations including budget reductions and implementing a planned spend down of the district's fund balance (reserves). 

The district has begun the process of reducing all operating budgets by a total of 10 percent for this school year and next.  These reductions, along with reductions in other programs, will result in approximately $500,000 in savings.

In addition to a $4 million planned spend down of the fund balance, the district will offset the $1.7 million decrease in revenue from its fund balance for a total reduction of approximately $4.5 million in the fund balance.

The fund balance is a safety net that is maintained to provide stability for the educational programs and services offered to students.  Because the district’s fund balance is sound, the district will have the time needed to make strategic and thoughtful decisions in its efforts to reallocate resources and reduce ongoing costs.  The district's first priority is to reallocate resources in ways that have the least impact on students and classroom instruction.

Since there is no significant amount received on a monthly basis from the state, hold harmless districts, like Kirkwood, function on an operating levy cycle of building the fund balance at the beginning of the cycle and then spending down the fund balance before a new local levy is requested.  Generally, this cycle runs on a five to six year time period.  This time period is beneficial to both school districts and to the local tax payers.  Otherwise, school districts would have to bring requests for tax levy increases before the voters every year or two.  This is both impractical and expensive.

In Kirkwood, we have been extended the cycle for longer than the standard five to six years.  The last operating levy put before the voters in Kirkwood was in 1998.  However,  the district has said for some time now that an intentional spend down of the fund balance would occur when the point was reached that the current tax levy would no longer generate enough revenue to cover the budget. The recent downturn in property values has hastened the need for the district to draw on reserves.   Expenses continue to be carefully evaluated and reductions are being made to slow the decrease in the fund balance.

The Kirkwood School District staff functions as a team. We have a supportive board and community. As we continue to work together, I have every confidence that Kirkwood schools will emerge stronger and will continue to provide every child with the best education possible.