MASON CITY – In the wake of financial numbers released – and explained – by the Iowa Department of Management’s Statewide School Finance Officer, Lisa Oakley, that show the Mason City School District with $8.8 million in funds left over after the 2014 fiscal year, NorthIowaToday.com Publisher Matt Marquardt honored an interview request with long-time school district critic Jack McCourt.
Marquardt had phoned Ms. Oakley on Thursday, August 8th in search of “some straight talk, some real answers,” on the true financial status of the Mason City School District (MCSD), which is pursuing two tax levies against property owners on the September 10th ballot.
NIT published the information Ms. Oakley had disclosed for the 2014 fiscal year.
Ms. Oakley said that the MCSD will have estimated revenues of $49 million for fiscal 2014. The MCSD is also carrying forward a balance of $27 million dollars. For fiscal year 2014, the MCSD has roughly $76 million at its disposal with a budget (total expenditures) of $67 million. She confirmed that after the 2014 school year, again a rough estimate, the MCSD will have a $8.8 million surplus or funds left over.
Ms. Oakley also described how MCSD takes in “millions” of dollars each year in federal aid and other sources. Some of those sources include: tuition, earnings on investments, grants, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and other federal sources.
Ms. Oakley also said that the MCSD has a long-term debt of $54.935 million.
Mr. McCourt had urged Marquardt to call Ms. Oakley in Des Moines and discuss with her the financial condition of the MCSD.
Presented with the information, Mr. McCourt, as always, had a very pointed opinion.
“The school board … is telling a big phony BS,” Mr. McCourt stated, referring to MCSD officials painting a somewhat dire portrait of the district’s finances.
“How many millions do they need to spend?” McCourt asked. “Once they pass that levy, it never goes away.”
Mr. McCourt implored Catholic voters to vote “no” on September 10th.
“You Catholics in Mason City … help the poor and the elderly including your religion that pays property tax in this town, to defeat those two levies.”
See video conversation:
httpv://youtu.be/s3YC_9ktbvE
Iowa tax is 5% then add 1% for local option sales tax for the city(this lowers your property taxes like a snowball made of bullchit -add another 1% local option sales tax that goes directly to schools which helps lower your property taxes (again another snowball rolled from bullchit – fat cat uper class compared to most all private servants who generate tax revenue to pay these fat cats because they generate no tax revenue to speak of.
What a mess. Mason City has terrible demographics consisting of a very high percentage of residents who are either elderly and disabled. The elderly here were predominately working class and very dependent on their fixed income.
The School is correct, we are the only school of its size in Iowa that doesn’t have this extra source of income which is a disadvantage. Locals think teachers and admin are paid big bucks, but their pay is consistent with other communities big and small. Cutting teacher pay will result in no teachers or poor teachers long term. We may not like what they are paid, but its the market rate.
The Superintendent and some admin are clueless, clueless about the community, the kids and sometimes the real needs of students.
I tend to think we have to provide the money, hire better admins, get better teachers and try to keep kids from enrolling in other districts and entice some out of district kids to open enroll.
Not fixing problems is really going to hurt this community. I’d like to remind the elderly it will be very hard to sell your home if we don’t attract families to live here. Good schools are a part of that.
That’s actually incorrect. In reality, they are getting paid metro wages in a rural environment. Living HERE and making $60-$120K is doing VERY well, especially for 9 months of work and lots of Holidays.
Manufacturing took the last train to coast and music died a long time ago. Most people are doing worse while certain publicly funded jobs are doing just fine.
Correct..metro wages. if MC doesn’t pay up, the best and brightest will locate near a metro school. There are small schools in the area that offer comparable pay to us. Our school system is full of headaches compared to a suburban school. Why would a good teacher choose mason city if MCCSD pays less than other options?
If you’re relying on someone else to teach your child, you’ve already lost the battle. If you think giving more tax money translates into intelligence for your child, you are sadly mistaken.
Steel panther…do you know calculus? How about trig, how bout C+ programming? We need teachers for the technical stuff, I don’t think too many parents can help their kids with this.
This is not a religion issue! This is not a age issue!
This is a issue of the public sector telling the the private sector, ( who have lost many wages and benefits, and jobs in the last 5 years) that they need to dig a little deeper.
Its about people making 50-60-70-up to 220.000 dollars a year, telling people making 20.000-30.000 they dont pay enough to those making the big dollars.
Its about government greed! No amount of money will ever be enough for them.
Again, all MCHS employees get a nice raise EVERY year.
State has increased funding 2% this year, 4% next year!!! As well as lump sum payments?
Please tell me why they need more? I want to know why that is not enough?
ITS NOT IN ANYWAY ABOUT THE KIDS
@sad but true-very well said.
Your opinion of a nice raise must be a lot different than mine. Gee, a second year teacher, getting
$ 34,000 and gets 2%– wow, $ 680.00 or $ 56.00 per month before taxes…You can’t take a family of 4 to the movies with treats for that. It would take
$ 55.60 and that would be for the matinee, not the evening show…
Nice raises my hind end!!!
It’s actually 71.5/month….only working 9.5 months a year.
@Listerine-$71.50 is a hell of a lot more than I got in the last TWO years and I pay their salary. Get off the crap and wake up.
poor poor pitiful you, LVS
Jack McCourt is a goof ball. Get him to the psych ward ASAP !!
@Ben (what is your last name?)-At least Jack uses his full name and stands up for what he believes. What about you coward?
then that makes you a coward also…LVS. Or are you going to tell us your name?
I didn’t insult the man for no reason. And what might your name be ???? Put up or shut up you IDIOT.
Jack is not the most articulate person but he cares deeply for the elderly and fixed income in our community. This school board cares only about padding their pockets and will bend the truth to any length in order to as they say feed the pig.
Hey Dirt…exactly how do school board members pad their pockets? How do they benefit?
Is it possible that the school district ended last year with a surplus because they had money on hand to make the final payments on John Adams and high school remodels?
One huge income for the schools that has not been mentioned is the 1 cent sales option tax they get.
Great point. My mistake for leaving that out in a roundabout way (I only mentioned “other sources”). I’m glad there are educated readers out there to fill in some of these blanks. We are still seeking answers and truths about what the school district needs and does not need.
They do not get Local Option Sales Tax….where did you see that???/
To LVS:
Since I don’t know what life is all about– I have one figure for you. For both of my parents to die in the nursing home– it cost us $ 228,000. That my friend is reality bites!!!
My dad was 12 years dying in a nursing home so don’t you talk to me about cost and that was hardly nothing compared to what it has cost me for mine. Do you think you are the only one who has had cost. Try doing it on a fixed income when everytime you turn around some jerk is trying to suck more money out of you so they can have more. Get off you high horse and get real.
My dad died when I was 12 and he didn’t have any life insurance. The first chance I got I took a job and have been working ever since. My mom has had two jobs since that time as well. From the great teachers and the education that I got from Mason City Schools I got a big scholarship from UNI and have always voted to give schools the money that they need for their students. I by no means are well off but I worked my tail off and have always had a special place in my heart for the schools. Just because some students do not want to work hard you can not take away funding that could help those students that need the educational opportunities to succeed. I understand that money is tight but as a new teacher I know that the more resources a teacher has the more well rounded education can be provided to the students.
Wow, you’re a new teacher and you are for more tax money spent on schools? I’m stunned!
Hate to upset the apple cart here, but it appears that Mr. McCourt did his homework by calling Des Moines and getting a second opinion on local school finances.
It is a lot more than what other folks here have done about it.
As far as being on a fixed income, I also agree with Mr. McCourt. While perhaps his wording of “being poor” is not what I would use, yet his point is well taken. The SS system is not at issue here, local school finances are.
Low income folks, be it SS recipients, or the wonderful $9.50 job holders in town, can ill afford more taxes. Especially when we have reduced enrollment.
You can be best assured that MC School District is already working on putting their spin on the issue as I type this.
They will claim poverty, and lack of educational opportunities that will be missed if they do not get more money.
They will claim everyone else has a levy, why not us?
Education is something you cannot force upon a person. It is something a person, and in this case, parents, must foster in their children. No school in the world can do that. And no amount of money will accomplish it.
Do we need talent in the schools? Yes. Good teachers can do a lot if the students come to learn. Even at times, without a lot of supplies or the latest gizmos.
Good for Mr. McCourt and his efforts, no matter how amateurish you may find them. It is better than doing nothing at all.
Well spoken Observer.
The school district at this is preparing flyers and brochures for a door-to-door onslaught by levy supporters to convince the voters in Mason City to vote “yes” on these two tax levies. Probably more info in those flyers than they ever release to the media.
2% increase in funding this year, 4% the following year, plus one time lump sums?
Please tell me why they need more/
@LVS…I agree…ALL the administrators should take a pay cut!!
Where is the “do it for the children” line? I used to LOVE that one! I imagine some housewife getting away with that at home, with her husband and thinking, “why won’t that work to get teachers and administrators more money.”
Do it…for the children
sucka…
The money doesn’t go for salaries. Once again, wake up.
Hey Ben-what about the 2% increase the state gave them this year followed by a 4% next year? Does that go for salary’s?
@Wussup
You are in for some sticker shock when you retire. Our government has been working overtime to find ways to separate you from your money.
I have been retired for 5 years now and it costs me over $350.00 a MONTH more then it did when I retired.
My fixed income isn’t so fixed and yours won’t be either. Ask your parents (if you can).
Taxes are a big part of expenses. The current mindset by our Governing Officials ie. Bureaucrats is to figure out ways to gleam more money from the taxpayers.
I have done my due diligence and research and I have determined that money the school have all the money they need.
I will be voting NO NO NO!
PS: I will be going door to door in my neighborhood with flyers in hand that I print up myself to get my neighbors informed and out to vote! I would encourage the rest of you to do the same.
I vote to give teachers more money and take away a few $100,000 from the Superintendent.
@Sonnie-now that I would go along with as long as it includes other administrators in the system too.
I’m voting no.
An excellent, objective, well written piece of investigative journalism. Thank you. We shouldn’t need to enlist the resources of the bean counters in Des Moines to get answers about school finances. Shame on you MCSD, it plays out like you have something to hide.
I have no idea how I will vote at this point. But, Jack McCourt’s thoughts are not persuasive. He clearly is uneducated and has a generally bad attitude. He has all the right in the world to express his opinions etc. but I would like to actually see a valid articulate point. People like him are the reasons we need a great school system and excellent teachers. He must have missed that somewhere along the way. Just to be negative for negative sake is just not very bright. I have met his son and he is kind of a dim bulb as well. I am a person with very few if any prejudices– but stupid people really get to me. I don’t care if u are black, white, or purple– but uninformed and unwilling to research and look at facts, just blows my mind.. I am not talking about persons living with mental or psychiatric disabilities at all. Just because Mr. McCourt says he is elderly and poor doesn’t cut the mustard either. Maybe if he had been better educated, by schools that had all their needs met, and had some higher education, he would have a better retirement income. I just get sick of the poor me, victim mentality… If it’s so bad, get a another job…. Just because he is retired, doesn’t mean he can’t work part-time if life is so tough….My parents and grandparents worked their butts off to make sure they could live well into retirement… I have been working since I was 13, so about 50 years and I know that I need to work for many more to be able to enjoy my retirement.
Like I said, I still don’t know how I will vote, but you can bet that I will do my due diligence on research and seek out facts, then make an informed decision on that basis, not emotions….
@wuzzup-Jack look at it from a cost only basis. He knows how hard it is to get by on what he has left. If you knew him you wouldn’t be so quick to judge him. I seriously doubt that he is capable of working at anything anymore. All he sees are a bunch of administrators and teachers living on very good incomes while he gets less and less. His insurance like everyone else’s is going up, his food, gas and utility bills go up and up and he sees the crap the school system pulls and he doesn’t like it. Everything goes up except his retirement pay. You should give the man credit for standing up for what he believes in. Not put him down because you think you are so much better than him.
I appreciate your rebuttal. But, I still have a hard time with the victim mentality, no matter who it is. I am a survivor of horrendous abuse and I certainly don’t expect anyone to feel sorry for me. I am not a victim– but a survivor.
And,I certainly don’t think I am better than anyone. You stated that if I knew him, I might think differently. Well, if u knew me, you would understand as well.
As far as teachers’ salaries — really?? Do u expect them to graduate from college, rack up about $ 40,000 in student loans, paying those off into major adulthood….And, then to continue to go to graduate school to become a better teacher for nothing??? Starting teachers in this district make approximately $ 16.00 per hour when u break it down. So, I wouldn’t say they are living the life of Riley… These arguments all boil down to people being jealous if people have more money than they do.
And, the other main point here is that neither of the School Tax Levy’s are for salaries!!!! Check your facts…
@Wuzzup…both your post are spot-on. Agree with everything you said, so I won’t elaborate. By the way, I went to school with one of Jack’s sons and your description is also 100% accurate. Not trying to be critical, but I don’t think McCourt is any education authority.
@wuzsup-you hit the nail right on the head. I too am not sure how I will be voting but if I was in the group that strongly opposed the 2 Levies I am not so sure I would want Mr. MC Court as my spokes person….”You Cathlics g-damm it” ….Really? By the way this was very good investigative reporting by Matt. Matt thank you for helping me be a more informed voter. It is too bad you had to go to the state level to get the info but I really appreciate your effort to get the information out. I was dead set on voting yes on these levies but I am reconsidering my vote and only because you gave me more info than the school board would. I may still be voting yes, I just don’t know, but I am defenetly wondering what the school board is trying to hide…..anyway thanks again for for your reporting.
@Iowaviking, thank you. I am doing what I can. The school funding is VERY complicated. I think our school district has totally given up on educating the people they serve on how the district is funded. I believe this will come back to haunt them on September 10th. They very well may “need” these levies, but their secrecy coupled with awarding themselves solid raises just crumbles any ground they have to stand on. The voters deserve proof that these levies are needed, not grandstanding by placing good people’s jobs (teachers and coaches) on the line.
Good job! If you can’t beat the message, beat the messenger.
@wuzzup-I have no problem with people having more money that me unless I am the one paying them the money. I also have no problem with paying starting teachers more money. I do have a problem with tenure where we pay them more and more without them doing a good job (not all teachers). However, the union way is to pay more and more just because they have seniority and that is bull. They should be paid on performance and achievement, not just because they have stuck around. And, to claim there is no more money and then find out from another source is totally unacceptable. It just show they have no respect for the taxpayers that pay their salary. As far as tough times, I will compare my life to yours anytime you want. You have no idea what life is about.
wuzzup you are 100% correct. To many in NI seem to play the poor poor pitiful me card. They would rather drag everyone down to their level than to raise themselves up. Teaching is not an easy profession. I know a lot of teachers and non of them are rich. And they all work or worked hard for every dollar they earned.
Many also don’t seem to understand that a good education today is not the same education you would have received 40 or 50 years ago. You can’t compare what someone needed education wise in 1963 to what you need in 2013. Times and technology have changed as well as what it costs to give a child a quality education.
You Catholics, g-dammit – lol.
That’s right Folks! There is alot a stake this year with the school levies and city council and mayor positions… BE AWARE, SEND A MESSAGE AND GET OUT AND VOTE!!!
Very. Interesting information. lots of dollars involved. Would like to see how our numbers compare to Ft Dodge.
Good for you Jack-keep on pushing. Enough is enough. If we give them more money they will just give themselves big raises again and waste the rest of the money on poor management. Vote NO, NO, NO.