The tax rate for the Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District will be dropping 71 cents as the school board signed off on a $15.7 million budget on Oct. 28.
The current tax rate is $7.29 per $1,000 of equalized valuation, which means the owner of property worth $200,000 can expect to pay $1,458 in school taxes for this year. The district originally thought that the rate was going to drop to $6.95 at its annual meeting in August. Once the district got the final property values from the state in October, the drop will actually be 9.7% to $6.58.
However, the lower rate does not translate to lower taxes overall due to the property values increasing.
Superintendent Garrett Rogowski said the general fund for the 2024-25 school year is up about $50,000 from last year.
Capital projects are expected to total around $1.3 million, according to Rogowski. Among some of the planned projects are roof replacement at Wittenberg Elementary-Middle School, which is expected to cost $85,000. The planned renovation at Wittenberg Elementary was budgeted for $1 million, but Rogowski expects the project will come in under that. There is also $200,000 budgeted for heating system replacement at both elementary schools, but Rogowski noted that might only require control work now.
“Particularly with the Wittenberg middle school, that’s where we’ve had more of our control issues,” Rogowski said.
The food service fund had $50,000 more in expenses, $705,000, than in revenues, but Rogowski said the $50,000 is going toward replacing an industrial dishwasher for Wittenberg Elementary.
“Overall, I feel pretty confident that we’re in pretty good shape,” he said of the budget.
The district tax levy approved is around $5.8 million, which is a less than 1% increase from last year’s levy. Of the $6.58 rate, $3.69 goes toward the general fund, and 31 cents pays for the district’s community service fund. The remaining $2.58 goes toward repayment of debt, which for Witt-Birn means the 2019 referendum.
“We levied $25,000 less in Fund 80 (community service) this year because our nature center budget is healthy this year,” Rogowski said. “In addition, we’re logging two of our three schools, and all of that revenue will go toward expenses at the nature center.”
In other good news, the district learned its student count, which is taken the third Friday in September each year, has increased again from 1,157 to 1,174. The more students a school district has, the more funding it will receive from the state to offset local property taxes.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
Witt-Birn’s school taxes to drop 71 cents in 2025
