Shawano School District’s new business manager wants the district to increase its tax levy as much as it can for the 2014-15 budget.
Louise Fischer, who joined the district in April following Gail Moesch’s retirement, told the School Board this week that not levying the maximum amount might placate taxpayers in the short term but hurts the district over time.
The district has not levied the maximum allowed by the state for four straight years, depriving the district of about $2.6 million, Fischer told the board.
The district, for example, levied $12.9 million in 2013-14, about $720,000 below the cap set by the state.
The preliminary budget Fischer presented as on option to the board Monday included a $14.5 million levy, which would translate into a tax rate of about $11.20 per $1,000 of equalized value. Last year’s tax rate was $10.31 per $1,000.
The two main sources of revenue for the district are the property tax levy and state equalization aid.
Fischer’s presentation did not go unchallenged by board members, who noted the change in philosophy.
“Years ago, we were encouraged to save … and now we are told to spend everything we have,” board member Marcia Yeager said.
Fischer said the 91 (of 424 in the state) districts that did not levy the maximum for 2013-14 made a mistake.
“You are penalized for being good stewards of money,” she said. “If you under-levy, you are not maximizing your potential of taxing. It will impact your equalized value and you won’t have as much money to spend.”
She said the two districts where she previously worked as business manager, Lakeland Union High School and Merrill, used maximum levies to bolster reserve funds and to offset declining enrollment.
Fischer said her preliminary budget anticipates slight enrollment growth for Shawano School District, from 2,567 students this year to 2,572 in 2014-15, and lower personnel costs.
Teacher and administrative salaries are expected to drop about $100,000 from the $9.64 million budgeted this year. Fischer said teacher salaries have dropped as less experienced teachers replace retirees at lower salaries.
The district’s insurance costs are expected to increase 8 percent, with employees paying 12.6 percent of the estimated $50,000 increase.
Fischer will continue to work on the budget, with a second draft expected for the board’s June 6 meeting. The board will finalize the budget over the following two months, before the tax levy is presented to voters for approval at the district’s annual meeting in August.
The budget and tax levy are not final, however, until after the official enrollment count, which affects how much state aid the district receives, is taken on the third Friday in September and equalized valuation numbers arrive from the state in October.
Last year, voters at the annual meeting were told the tax rate would remain at $9.95 per $1,000 equalized valuation, but the district’s equalized valuation declined by 2 percent, pushing the tax rate up to $10.31.
The district’s tax rate went from $8.98 per $1,000 of equalized value in 2011 to $9.95 in 2012 and to $10.31 last year, meaning the owner of a home valued at $100,000 paid $898 in school taxes in 2011, $995 in 2012 and $1,031 last year.
The tax rate can vary by individual municipalities, which figure their tax rates on assessed rather than equalized value.
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