October 21, 2022 at 10:51 a.m.
School district reports highest state aid in 20 years
Annual electors meeting Oct. 24
School district reports highest state aid in 20 years
"All of the numbers are in for the tax levy this year," Bob Thom advised the school board Monday evening. "On Oct. 11 we got our property values and property value in the district is up 14 percent, which is much higher than it's been. It's been running at 2 or 3 percent the last few years."
"The highlight is the tax levy will go down 16 percent, so were down from $25 million to $21 million for the tax levy (and the) tax rate will go from $9.97 all the way to down to $7.34 per 1,000 (of equalized value) and that includes the $4.25 million referendum in place right now," he added, noting that the new referendum - to exceed the levy limits by $4 million per year for the next four years to cover operational expenses - could be approved by voters on Nov. 8 and taxes would still go down.
Thom noted that owners of homes valued at $200,000 paid $1,994 in school tax last year and even if their homes' value increased to $220,000 this year they would pay $1,615 for a savings of $379.
"There should be a pretty big decrease for everyone across the board," he said.
One reason district taxpayers can approve a new referendum and still see their taxes go down is a notable uptick in state aid.
"We got an additional $4 million in state aid," Thom said, noting that this figure represents the highest amount of state aid, percentage-wise, the district has received in 20 years.
District electors will have their chance to weigh in on the tax levy on Monday evening. The annual meeting of the electors is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the Superior Diesel Advanced Learning center.
In other business Monday, district superintendent Eric Burke reported the final referendum informational meetings are scheduled for 10 a.m. Oct. 25 in the Hodag Dome and 6 p.m. Oct. 31 in the Crescent Elementary Library.
He also reported on the district's enrollment numbers following the third Friday count. Overall, there are 2,276 pupils enrolled in the district, he said. This is down 44 students from the last year.
The biggest gains are in the lower level - 4K, K and 1 - and the biggest drop was in grades 3 to 6, especially grades 4 and 5, he said, noting that the strong numbers among the youngest students "bodes well" for the future.
Jeremy Mayo of the River News contributed to this report.
Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].
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