Board certifies 2009-10 tax levy
by Sue Mroz of The Review staff
PLYMOUTH – Now that the school district has received final state-aid data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for 2009-10, school district officials learned that the mill rate per thousand valuation is 10 cents less than that projected at the annual meeting.
The owner of a $100,000 home will pay $779, rather than $789 in school tax for 2009-10.
The mill rate is currently estimated at 7.79357 – down slightly from the annual meeting estimate of 7.89.
“The mill rate changed slightly,” said Jon Miller, the district’s director of business services, at Tuesday’s School Board meeting. “This is due to the fact that the total district valuation went up .75 percent since the annual meeting. And the computer aid and equalized aid increased a small amount.”
School Board members on a unanimous vote certified a total tax levy of $10,576,250. Board members Sally Isely and Jeff Tauscheck were absent from the meeting.
The total tax levy is comprised of the following components: . Fund 10 (general operations) – $8,773,147. . Fund 38 (WRS debt service) – $177,265. . Fund 39 (district bonding for previous referendum) – $1,375,838.
. Fund 80 (community education) – $250,000.
Miller noted that in comparison to the levy passed at the annual meeting, only the Fund 10 levy has changed.
. Fund 10 levy at the annual meeting – $8,825,546. . Fund 10 levy proposed and final – $8,773,147.
The difference is $52,399.
This reduction is due to a $7,264 increase in state equalized aid from the September estimate and primarily from a $45,135 increase in the computer-aid supplement.
“The revenue limit remained unchanged from the annual meeting,” Miller noted.
The levy increase over the prior year is 11.23 percent.
District equalized valuation increased .75 percent from the prior year. The school district is to receive $13,023,822 in state aid for 2009-10.
“We moved from a $7,000 budget deficit to having a $17,000 surplus in the budget or a relatively balanced budget,” Miller said.
Board member Tim St. Clair said he has a difficult time accepting a tax increase of 11.2 percent, considering the current tough economic times.
“It’s not our fault though,” he affirmed. “It seems the trouble lies with the current legislative process that produced this state-aid policy.
“It boils down to a number of broken promises by the governor and the legislature,” St. Clair said. “But we can’t break our promise to our children. Therefore, we have to approve this levy.”
Board President Mark Rhyan said he wholeheartedly agrees with St. Clair’s analysis of the situation.
