Taxpayers in the Oconto Falls School District will pay more to support education this year, and school officials say state lawmakers are to blame.
State aid to the school district was reduced by $328,000, or 3 percent, for the 2013-14 school year. To offset the loss, the budget presented at Monday’s annual meeting included an additional $289,000, a 5 percent levy increase, in the general fund.
“Essentially … we’ve got less support from the state. We’re making that up by going back to the property taxpayers,” School Superintendent Dave Polashek said.
School Board member Ken Harter said funding is not the only challenge facing the schools.
“Some of the policy decisions the state government has taken in recent years are also an issue,” he said. He encouraged parents to contact their state officials to share their concerns about education.
“We need to have more parents involved,” he said.
About 15 individuals attended Monday’s annual meeting, approving an $8.5 million tax levy with just one dissenting vote from a man in the audience who told the Times Herald he did not want to comment.
Factoring in a slight decrease in equalized value, the tax rate is calculated at $10.68 per $1,000 of equalized value, a 3.77 percent increase over last year’s rate of $10.29. The school tax on a piece of property valued at $100,000 will be $1,068, compared to $1,029 for the same piece of property the previous year, an increase of $39.
The district adopted a budget of just over $18.5 million, increasing its overall expenditures 1.5 percent, or $285,000, over last year. Personnel expenses account for a major portion of the district’s expenses; 72 percent of general fund expenditures are connected to salary and fringe benefits.
At the close of the annual meeting, Oconto Falls resident and retired educator Neva Hodge-Lemorande talked to board members about the importance of a good education, especially for young students.
“I’m very concerned about what our government’s doing, and we must provide for all of our children, because they are the future,” she said.
The budget is preliminary, and the final budget will not be approved by the School Board until October. The district won’t know its official enrollment, which is a factor in determining state aid, until the official annual count is taken on the third Friday of September, and the state won’t release equalized valuation figures for the district until Oct. 15.
“I think everybody in this room understands the struggles we’ve been through in the budget and things in the past years,” said Ron Leja, School Board president. He said the School Board is committed to maintaining small class sizes for early elementary students, but funding has been tight.
“The community really needs to understand what’s happening in education to keep it strong,” he said.
Categories
