School's $23M budget increases taxes 3 percent
By Anna Krejci, Dells Events
The Wisconsin Dells School District School Board approved Monday a total budget of more than $23 million for the 2009-2010 school year and a tax levy of $15,909,438.
The tax levy rose by 3.15 percent compared with the taxes collected in 2008-2009, a difference of $486,440.
The budget includes the voter approved referendum several years ago allowing the district to collect $349,776 beyond the state’s revenue limits for this school year.
The budget also pays off the final debt for the remodeling of the high school, according to the district’s business manager Deb Michel. The district’s debt service budget is $392,791 for 2009-2010. According to Michel, after this year, debt will remain for boilers at the high school and Spring Hill School as well as for when the district refinanced unfunded pension liability with the state. The district is also hoping to take on more debt by borrowing at most $2.3 million for a building expansion of Spring Hill School that voters will be asked to approve in a referendum Nov. 3.
The budget approved Monday was tweaked from what was presented at the annual meeting in August. Every year the district approves its final budget in October after receiving third Friday in September student enrollment counts that influences the final budget.
The tax levy publicized in August, $15.7 million, increased to $15.9 million by Monday’s budget meeting. Residents can expect to pay $6.77 per $1,000 of property value.
The following items affected the budget from August to October: The district’s full time equivalency student membership rose by 22 students. The district gets $50,359 in a Transfer of Service Exemption that it hadn’t predicted in August. Because of more students enrolled the district cannot receive the declining enrollment exemption of $105,404. The district will receive $40,000 more in Student Achievement Guarantee in Education funds. The district gets $9,111 less in state aid than what was predicted. Total state aid is $787,253. The district will receive $537,295 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. The district will add to its budget $399,000 to be paid out to Noah’s Ark and Great Wolf in Lake Delton for being overtaxed. The district will recollect the amount from taxpayers all over the district in the 2010-2011 tax levy