October 29, 2014 at 5:42 p.m.
School district budget, tax levy set
School district budget, tax levy set
The district is in the second year of a three-year, $12 million referendum, making the creation of the new budget a much simpler process than in year's past.
At the Annual Meeting for the Electors of the District, the district requested a $23,722,346 tax levy for transportation, sites, buildings, vehicles, maintenance, and the operation of the schools, $1,156,000 to retire debt and pay interest, and $480,000 for community service.
That comes to a total tax levy of $25,358,346 for 2014-'15, up from $25,294,610 in 2013-'14.
That will result in a slightly increased mill rate for taxpayers. The 2014-'15 mill rate will be $10.99 per thousand dollars of equalized value. That is an increase of $.04 from last year's mill rate of $10.96 per thousand dollars of equalized value.
Director of Business Services Marta Kwiatkowski said the increase is the result of the state continuing to decrease the amount of aid the district receives, increasing the burden on local taxpayers.
State aid to the district has decreased drastically since the 2005-'06 school year. At that time, state aid amounted to $11,693,310 while property tax support equaled $15,613,885. In 2014-'15, state aid totals come to $3,084,222 while property taxes equal $24,140,703.
"There's a slight increase (in the mill rate) due to the state shifting more of the support to local taxpayers," Kwiatkowski said.
State aid figures could have been even lower, however district enrollment increased by 48 students this year.
"For the first time in many years, our enrollment has increased by 48 students," Kwiatkowski said.
"Our current enrollment is 2,537 students. According to a UW study, our school district (enrollment) was going to decline until 2017-'18, and then stabilize, but that is not the case. We have increased by 48 students when compared to last year."
The district's electors were the first to take up the question of the levy, approving it unanimously.
The board approved the levy unanimously during a special meeting directly after the meeting of electors.
In other business, the electors:
-- Authorized the board to sell "personal property belonging to and no longer needed by the school district for district purposes."
-- Authorized the district to "reimburse the actual and necessary expenses of school board members who travel out of the district in the performance of their duties.
-- Authorized the district to "provide for prosecution or defense of any legal action or proceedings in which the school district is interested."
-- Authorized the district to "provide school lunches to district students and appropriate funds for such purposes."
For anyone who was unable to attend the meeting but is interested in hearing Kwiatkowski's presentation, the district hopes to post it on its website soon.
"Because many people don't come to this meeting, I actually recorded the presentation and ... I'm hoping to put this presentation on our website along with the (Powerpoint document)," Kwiatkowski said.
School board pay
One surprise motion was made during the meeting of the electors as board member Jim Winkler moved to decrease the pay received by board members.
At last year's meeting, the electors approved a motion made by board president Ron Counter to authorize paying each board member a yearly salary of $3,600 per year. That figure can be reduced if board members miss meetings.
Before last year, the board did not receive any compensation.
Winkler said he's talked with school board members from around the state and has found that Rhinelander board members are paid more than most.
"This last year at the state convention, the (Wisconsin Association of School Boards) state convention, and any type of district meetings or gatherings I've been to, I've been evaluating and asking people what they get paid," he explained.
"The rate has been somewhere between $100 and $150 per month, and as low as $50 a month. The most I've found was Wausau at $3,100 annually."
With that information, Winkler suggested the electors reduce the board's pay to a total of $2,000 per year at a rate of $150 per month based on attendance. That would include $200 for travel per year.
Board member Judy Conlin warned that lowering the board's pay could dissuade people from running for office.
"Last year, the primary reason why I supported the payment was that sometimes it's hard to get people to run (for the board). I would hope that we can encourage more parents (to run for the board)," she said.
"Fifty percent of our kids are on free and reduced lunch, and my concern is that if we don't do some compensation, we could have some parents who might want to serve on the board, but if they have to pay for child care and to come to meetings, I would not want to see a lack of compensation cause some people to not be able to run. We know that for some of our families, they're living in tight financial times."
The motion failed with three electors voting in favor of it and 11 voting against.
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
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