Property tax rates for the Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District could be dropping for this school year, and they could be lower than district officials estimate.
The current rate is $7.287 per $1,000 of equalized valuation, which means the owner of property valued at $100,000 would pay $728.70 for school district taxes alone. Superintendent Garrett Rogowski announced during the district’s annual meeting Aug. 26 that the tax rate is expected to drop so that the same property owner would only be paying $695.03.
However, the district was estimating a 5% increase in property values at the time the annual meeting report was prepared, according to Rogowski. He noted he received indications that the property values could see more than double the increase at 11.4%, which would mean an even lower tax rate. The final numbers from the state will come out Oct. 1.
“A change of just a couple of percent can significantly change your levy,” Rogowski said. “It is very likely the change will be made before the October meeting (when the final budget is approved).”
The district has a proposed budget of $15.55 million for the 2024-25 school year, which is about $100,000 less than the previous year’s budget. The levy is flat, with only $8,599 more expected for a total around $5.76 million. Of that, $3.21 million is earmarked for operations; $2.27 million for debt service, which includes paying off some of the debt from the 2018 capital referendum; and $275,000 for community service, which includes the Darwin E. Smith Community Aquatic Center.
Rogowski noted that the property taxes are only one aspect affecting the 2024-25 budget.
“Developing each year’s budget, we’ve needed to keep in mind local and state variables, but now very much federal, as well,” he said. “Many of our accounting sources are tied to grants, federal grants, and we’re really going to have to keep an eye on the political landscape, I would think, as this is an election year, and there will be a lot determined on that level through that process. It’s just going to be a reality that we’re going to have to be responding to.”
Enrollment numbers also play a factor, as the number of students determines how much in state equalization aid the school district will receive. This year, the district estimates the student population will go up almost 9.8% from 1,092 students to 1,117. The exact number will be finalized after the district does its official student count on the third Friday in September.
“The low revenue ceiling of $11,000 (per student) affected us very positively, and then the added $325 per student will be beneficial for us, as well,” Rogowski said. “As far as school districts around the state go, we are set at that low revenue ceiling amount, whereas many other districts are significantly higher.”
Rogowski noted that the state aid is determined by an average rolling enrollment for the last three years, so the increase this year will not be a lot, as the enrollment in the 2022-23 school year was only one student less than the 2023-24 school year. He estimated that state aid would go up 5% for the district.
As far as open enrollment, which allows families to enroll their children in a different school district from the one where they live, Witt-Birn is seeing more students come in than go out, with 187 students enrolled for the school year from outside the area, while 139 students living in the district boundaries are leaving to attend other school districts.
Rogowski said that the district’s goal is to pay off its referendum debt as quickly as possible in a way that doesn’t negatively impact property taxes. So far since the referendum was approved, the tax rate dropped from $9.13 per $1,000 to the current $7.28.
Overall, Rogowski believes the district is doing well in spending the public’s money.
“We are putting our school district, I think, in a position of financial stability while continuing to provide resources for staff to be effective in their positions,” he said. “We have to continue to commit to building a healthy district budget. I think the long-term plan has to be to maintain stability.”
The final budget is expected to be approved Oct. 28.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
WBSD tax rate expected to drop once again
