This election 3 local papers have provided information on all candidates, which give you a few more reasons to VOTE HUSNIK on November 8, 2011.  Below are either my responses to all questions, or media coverage received, so far.  The links to the full articles are down below.

Shoreview Press Election Guide 2011:

Name: Tim Husnik
Age: 32
Address: 520 Lake Cove Court, Shoreview, MN 55126
Occupation: Internal financial consultant at Wells Fargo
Public service experience: Reading buddy mentor at Pinewood Elementary School; Finance Council member at St. Odilia Church, MBA ambassador at University of Minnesota

Q: What do you think your school system does best? What do you think is its greatest weakness?
A: Strength: Mounds View has numerous programs where community members can become active in the district. For example, I am a reading buddy mentor atPinewood Elementary School. Each week I meet with my district assigned “reading buddy” and we play games, read books, and enjoy lunch together.

Weakness: Mounds View invests very little in technology that can be “held in your hands”. Calumet school district, in rural Michigan, recently gave iPads to every student in grades 4-12. We should consider doing something similar. Electronic textbooks and applications could be preinstalled on the device which would reduce our hardcover textbook expenses. This is a tech-savvy generation, and we need to keep up with its needs.

Q: Name two challenges in your district and how you might approach helping solve them if elected.
A. Deficit spending: The current school board approved a $7 million defi cit in 2011. It approved spending $113 million while only collecting $106 million in tax revenue. This creates an unsustainable deficit caused by expenses increasing faster than tax revenue. This problem is solved in one of two ways: by reducing expenses or by increasing revenue. The current school board does not appear to be going down either of these paths. I will vote against any budget that is financially irresponsible andunsustainable. I will also put new ideas on the table that increase revenue, such as expanding the preschool program and leasing out open district space.

Student achievement: Our student body is constantly changing, and children need to be challenged. Low math test scores were recently reported. This should not be viewed as a sign of student “weakness”, it should be seen as a sign of student “boredom.” In my opinion, low test scores can be directly related to how engaged students are in class. If elected, I will do everything in my power to push forward programs that engage and challenge our youth, such as rapidly expanding the STEAM program to include more students from within our district.

Q: In your opinion, should there be changes to the state’s education funding plan, and if so whatchanges?
A: The state of Minnesota should increase funding each year 2 to 4 percent, in line with infl ation. This increase should not be covered by increasing taxes in Minnesota. It should be covered by prioritizing education above other state needs, growing the economy, and lowering the unemployment rate.

Q: Under what circumstances would you request a tax levy increase within your school district?
A: I do not support raising taxes. The district currently spends $11,500 per student each year.  This exceeds the tuition level of every private school in the district, so should be enough money to ensure a high-quality public education.

Sun Focus News Election Guide 2011:

Tim Husnik
Address:520 Lake Cove Court, Shoreview
Age: 32
Family: Bobbie (wife) and two children
Education: MBA in finance and management from the Carlson School of Management (University of Minnesota)
Occupation: Internal financial consultant at Wells Fargo
Time in the district: 5 years
Community involvement: Reading Buddy Mentor at Pinewood Elementary School, Finance Council member at Saint Odilia Church, MBA Ambassador at University of Minnesota

Contact: timhusnik.com

Q: Why are you the best choice for this board?
A: Three reasons: I am a financial expert, a professional problem solver, and will act as a conduit to the community.

For the last 10 years I have worked in finance at Wells Fargo. Many of the largest problems facing the district are financial in nature and I have extensive finance experience. I balance a multi-million dollar budget of a Fraud Prevention group and collaborate with others to solve complex problems. Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” You can’t continue to solve problems in the same way. Each day I face real-world problems and think outside the box to solve them in new and unique ways. Solving complex problems is not a small part of my job at work, it is my entire job.

I will act as a conduit to the community and have an open line of communication with all education stakeholders. Parents, teachers, staff, students, and tax payers have great ideas. I look forward to connecting with these groups and allowing every person in the district to have a voice in the boardroom.

Q: What are three major issues facing the school district, and what would you recommend to solve these problems?
A: It boils down to two: deficit spending and student achievement.

Deficit spending: The current school board approved a $7 million deficit in 2011. They approved spending $113 million while only collecting $106 million in tax revenue. This creates an unsustainable deficit caused by expenses increasing faster than tax revenue. This problem is solved in one of two ways: by reducing expenses or by increasing revenue. Unfortunately the current school board does not appear to be going down either of these paths. I will vote against any budget that is financially irresponsible and unsustainable. I will also put new ideas on the table that would increase revenue, such as expanding the preschool program and leasing out open district space.

Student achievement: Our student body is constantly changing, and children need to be challenged. Low math test scores were recently reported, this should not be viewed as a sign of student “weakness”, it should be seen as a sign of student “boredom.” In my opinion, low test scores can be directly related to how engaged students are in class. If elected, I will do everything in my power to push forward programs that engage and challenge our youth, such as rapidly expanding the STEAM program to include more students from within our district.

The Bulletin Clipping:

“Husnik said he also feels technology is an increasingly important issue for the district, and added that he is concerned that the district currently doesn’t invest enough in “technology that kids can hold in their hands.” Investing in technological tools, such as an iPad, could be cost-saving if students can load textbooks and materials onto them, he noted.”

Husnik, who has two children ages 2 and 4, said he would like to focus on increasing student achievement and balancing the budget if he is elected. The district is currently facing an “unsustainable deficit” if changes aren’t made, he added. Husnik has extensive experience in finance, he noted, and has worked at Wells Fargo for the past 10 years.

Articles Referenced:

Shoreview Press Election Guide
Sun Focus News Election Guide
The Bulletin Election Article

Is this progress?

• Student academic performance in Mounds View is decreasing or low in many areas (21% of High School Juniors failed to meet math standards)
• 7 of 11 Mounds View Schools failed making adequate yearly progress (read more here)
• The school board approved a $7 million deficit in 2011 because they could not balance the budget (page 8 here)

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” ~George Bernard Shaw

If you are supporting current school board members, please consider changing your mind. Vote for Tim Husnik on Tuesday November 8th. 

Many of the problems facing the district are financial in nature.  And no other candidate, apart from Tim Husnik, can say that they’ve been solving complex financial problems in the private sector for over a decade at a Fortune 23 company.  Each day he goes to work, he is solving problems.  It is not a small part of his day job…it’s his entire job!

Tim Husnik for Mounds View School Board

School Talk mentioned this was to “maintain existing programs and services” but the details of the programs being maintained were not disclosed. Surely, this information must be located somewhere, such as in the meeting where the School Board voted in favor of this budget deficit. Ironically, in this board meeting, they spent close to 20 minutes discussing the official district newspaper and only a few minutes on a $7 million budget problem!

Let’s compare a few things. In 2004, the School Board had 50+ community meetings to discuss the decision to close two elementary schools which reduced district expenses $600k per year. In 2011, with almost no discussion, a $7 million deficit was approved (7-0) in record time. I just have one question: how is it that the man I saw holding a “Need Cold Beverage” sign is being more transparent, more upfront, than the Mounds View School Board?

If elected to the Mounds View School Board I’ll fight for greater transparency! Please consider voting for Tim Husnik on November 8th, 2011.

Attached is my opinion letter to the editor that was printed in the Shoreview-Arden Hills Bulletin on Wednesday, August 10th, 2011.

Letter to the editor: The Mounds View School Board and their unbalanced budget

The Mounds View School Board recently voted in favor of a 2011 budget that is out of balance by $7 million. “School Talk” mentioned that they tapped into the fund reserves (intended for financial emergencies) to cover this deficit so that the district could “maintain existing class sizes and program offerings.”

After doing some digging, I found that expenses are increasing faster than revenue the district receives. Rather than solving the problem of escalating expenses, the Mounds View School Board simply ignored it and approved a budget that is massively out of balance. Official district finance documents show that because the board didn’t balance the budget in 2011, they will be facing deficits of $11 million in 2012 and $14 million in 2013. If the district continues to use reserves to cover their inadequate management of expenses, it will be empty by 2013 and the district will still be facing a budget shortfall of $8 million.

I just have one question for the Mounds View School board. How do you expect to “maintain existing class sizes and program offerings” in 2013 after you’ve completely emptied the $25 million reserve fund and are still left with an $8 million dollar deficit? There are only two reasons why this problem wasn’t solved in 2011. Either, the Mounds View School Board is incapable of solving complex financial problems or they opted to use the oldest trick in the book: push the financial problems out to future years … when, hopefully, some of them are replaced by people that can actually solve these problems.

Tim Husnik
Shoreview

Here is the link to the official district document that I was referencing, see page 8.

If elected to the Mounds View School Board, I promise to never vote for a budget that is out of balance this much. My tolerance level is about 2% (or $2m) since the reserves could sustain that for over 12 years. Now, I prefer the budget to be balanced like what the private sector does…like what small business owners do…like what WE ALL do (in terms of personal finance).

~Tim Husnik

I am running for Mounds View School Board for a few reasons:

• To provide the children of Mounds View with a challenging world-class education.
• To help the solve the complex financial problems that the school district is currently facing.
• To ensure that great ideas rise to the top and are turned into reality.

World Class Education:

I want to ensure that all children in the district receive the best, world class, education possible. The children in school are currently the most technologically advanced group of kids ever, we owe it to ourselves to continue and challenge them in new ways. This will take hard work, creative thinking, and outside the box ideas. That’s my plan and my commitment to you.

Financial Problems:

The district has projected a $34 million dollar budget shortage in the year 2015. This is, in part, due to the current school board recently approving $113 million in expenses while only receiving $106 million in tax payer revenue. In other words, the district currently has an unbalanced budget, which results in a deficit of $7 million. Approving this budget only does one thing, it pushes the problem to the next year where the district is projecting an even larger $11 million deficit. That is not how I operate, I plan to solve these problems now, rather then letting them snowball into massive problems in 3-4 years. I have the professional experience necessary to help solve this problem. I work in finance at Wells Fargo and balance a multi-million dollar operating budget of a Fraud Prevention group. I look forward to using the skills I developed in the private-sector for the betterment of the school district.

Collaboration:

I have extensive training and experience working with others in a team setting.  My goal, when working in a team setting, is to allow the best ideas to rise to the top. I’ve been a member in and led successful teams in solving problems. I look forward to doing the same for the Mounds View School District.

Thanks for your time and I would appreciate your support on November 8th, 2011.

Now lets fast forward to today. The 2011-2012 budget was quickly voted on and the board approved in an operating budget that is out of balance by $7M. To cover this shortfall, they tapped into the emergency reserve fund to cover up their apparent mismanagement of expenses.

Compare these 2 scenarios for a moment. 50+ parent meetings and countless hours of effort in closing 2 schools to save $600k a year vs. 5 minutes worth of discussion in 2011 before throwing away $7 million dollars on an “unbalanced budget”.

As a parent of 2 young kids, this budget deficit is just not sitting well with me. That is because this pushes another deficit of $11 million to next year, and it gets worse every year. In a few short years, the district could be facing a $30+ million deficit and have no emergency funds to cover it. This strategy is setting us up for failure, and I will not stand for failure when it comes to the education of our children.

Let’s stop this financial irresponsibility. Consider voting for a financial expert, with a 10 year career in balancing budgets and solving complex problems. Consider voting for Tim Husnik on November 8th, 2011.

I was almost certain the video contained a mistake, perhaps a script editor moved a decimal point the wrong direction or something? So, as a concerned citizen, I contacted the district and asked for thei financial source data on the projections and received it. It confirmed what the video stated, the current Mounds View School Board has created a multi-MILLION dollar budget problem, and doesn’t appear to have any clue as to how to best solve it. The document I was sent shows that if no actions are taken, the district will completely EMPTY their $25 million fund reserve and will still be facing a $34 million dollar budget deficit in 2014.

Now…how did we get here?  Basically expenses are ramping up faster than revenue is.  Revenue is pretty much uncontrollable, and is projected to be flat. Expenses are controllable, but are projected to almost exponentially increase in the next few year. It seems like the district has backed themselves into a corner because they do not appear to properly managing expenses (otherwise they obviously wouldn’t be projecting such large increases). As such, the School Board can really only do a few things to fix the problem, both of which are unideal:

1. Reduce expenses (this involves increasing class sizes, not a great option)
2. Increase Revenue (hope that the state updates its ancient funding formula, or propose a net-new educational levy)

So here we are…we have 2 solutions that are both unideal. Ask yourselves, how did we get here? Who got us here? Why do we have options that are both terrible? Most importantly, what can you do about it?  Well, I’d suggest that you vote for me on November 8th, in 2011.  I have a 10 year career in balancing budgets, forecasting growth assumptions, I understand the data…I live the data.

Solving complex financial problems is not a small part of my daily duties at my job…it is my entire job.

Vote for a professional problem solver.
Vote for a financial expert.
Vote for Tim Husnik on 11-8-11.

4.1a – Discussion on legal notice newspaper (pulled out of the consent agenda). The board voted in favor (7-0 vote) of The Bulletin continuing as the official legal notice paper and admended the motion to include all interested papers for inclusion in the bidding process next year.

4.1b – 2003 bonds were refinanced at a large discount. ~6% net present value savings!  Nice work Mounds View Finance Team!

4.2 – Budget amendments (it passed in a 7-0 vote).  No major takeaway on this section, the district was able to reduce the budget for energy savings and had some 1-time budget saves since teacher’s are delaying retirement (likely due to the recession).

4.3 – 2011-2012 Budget Approval (it passed in a 7-0 vote). Below is a summary of the General Fund (The main fund for education revenue & expenses):

• $106M in Revenue (taxes, state aid, federal aid) 
• $113M in Expenditures (cost of district staff, supplies)
• $7M Deficit
• Deficit covered by reducing the ~$25M Unreserved Fund Balance 28%, to ~$18M

Essentially what we see here is an unbalanced budget caused by flat funding from the state, level enrollment projections, and contractual salary increases bringing up expenditures.  No action was taken in this meeting to attempt and balance the budget but it was noted that the board has met and discussed this budget in many work sessions.  It was also noted that continued deficits could cause the districts bond rating (think of it as the districts credit score) to decline.  This may raise the cost of future district borrowing through bonds, short term borrowing, and various other loan types.

5.2 – Superintendent Review: Dan Hooverman performed against his 10/11 District Operating Plan wonderfully and received high praise. I would also like to point out that the superintendent’s 11/12 District Operating Plan (DOP) is quite ambitious and challenging. I’m proud to say that our Superintendent, Dan Hooverman, does not rest on his laurels, but takes on challenges head on!

~Tim Husnik (Running For Mounds View School Board)

I’ve lived in Shoreview for the last 5 years just a few blocks from Island Lake Elementary School. I volunteer in the school district as a Reading Buddies Mentor at Pinewood Elementary School and also am a member of the Finance Council at St. Odilia Church and School. I work full time in Finance at Wells Fargo in the Technology and Operations Group in Shoreview.

I am running for Mounds View School Board for a few reasons:

• To provide the children of Mounds View with a world-class education.
• To help the school district solve the challenging financial problems ahead.
• To ensure that great ideas rise to the top and are turned into reality.

World Class Education:

I want to ensure that all children in the district receive the best education possible, in a financially responsible way. It is my goal to make sure our schools deliver world-class education, as well as value to taxpayers. We need a balance of both. The world is becoming a smaller place, and we can’t take for granted that our schools are up to the challenges of the 21st century. That will take hard work and creative thinking. That’s my plan and my commitment to you.

Financial Problems:

The district has projected a $34 million dollar budget shortage in the year 2015. I have the professional experience neccessary to help solve this problem. I work in finance at Wells Fargo and manage a multi-million dollar operating budget of a Fraud Prevention group. My private-sector experience will benefit the district greatly by providing the school board with someone who deals with problems like this on a daily basis. Solving financial problems is not a “small part” of my full time job at Wells Fargo…it is my entire job.

Collaboration:

I have extensive training and experience working with others in a team setting.  My goal, when working in a team setting, is to allow the best ideas to rise to the top. I’ve been a member in and led successful teams in solving problems by working across the team, leveraging the strenghts of each member, forming a concensus, and answering the challenge. I look forward to doing the same for the Mounds View School District.

Thanks for your time and I would appreciate your support on November 8th, 2011.

Uncertainties with the MN “shut down” concern some board members. The good news is that the district appears to have a healthy cash flow and will move forward with summer programs.  The issue is that if the State of MN shuts down, there will literally not be anyone to cut checks to school districts.  Mounds View does appear to have enough cash to cover operational expenses until August…at which point they’d need to take out short term loans to cover the expenses.

Also, the superintendents’s DOP (district operating plan) for next year is agressive and challenging. I am extremely impressed!

~Tim Husnik  (Running for Mounds View School Board)