In a move atypical in today’s political environment, USD 257 board members Monday night voted to cut the property tax levy for the 2010-11 budget to less than last year’s.
Dr. Craig Neuenswander proposed a budget with levy of 48.817 mills, .432 of a mill more than last year. After an extensive review, board members wondered if the levy, and budget authority, might not be lowered rather than increased.
Neuenswander allowed a half-mill reduction in the capital outlay fund, which has carried a 5-mill levy for several years, would be manageable, particularly since a good portion of the $950,000 allocated in that fund was for expenditures that might not be made. That left the levy at 48.317, compared to 48.385 last school year.
Capital outlay money statutorily may not be used for general operations, including salaries. Buses and other equipment may be purchased with capital outlay money and it may be used for physical improvements. This year the district’s payment of about $130,000 for use of the Bowlus Fine Arts Center will come from the fund.
To give a better feel for what the property tax levy means, a levy of 1 mill raises $1 for each $1,000 of assessed valuation. A home with a market value of $100,000 is assessed at $11,500, meaning 1 mill would raise $11.50. For strictly general fund purposes, the first $20,000 of appraised or market value of a home is exempt from taxation.
MONEY IN this year’s budget for general operations — in the general and supplemental general funds — totals $12,516,683, $445,000 less than last year and $1.537 million less than 2008-09.
Within the general fund, $1.55 million is designated for special education and as such flows from the state through the local budget and to the ANW Special Education Cooperative.
Through the state funding mechanism, a levy of 20 mills is assessed against all real and personal property in Kansas, which means the lion’s share of money spent in USD 257 for salaries and all other educational expenses, as well as maintenance and operation of facilities, comes from outside the district. This year’s general fund will rely on $858,795 in local taxes, which is just 9.1 percent of predicted expenditures of $9.39 million.
Almost 40 percent of the supplemental budget, often referred to as the local option budget, comes from local taxes. Specifically, $1.2 million of $3.12 million, or 38.5 percent. That still leaves more than 61 percent coming from state aid.
All the money now raised for the capital outlay fund comes from local taxes — state aid once was a component — with the 4.5-mill levy approved Monday night raising $227,789 of expenditures pegged at about $925,000 after the levy decrease.
Overall, the district’s budget for this year predicts expenditures of a smidgen over $17 million, with those outside general operation and capital outlay being for such things as food service, $1.2 million with about half coming from the federal government, federal stimulus funding of $1.03 million and special education funding of $2.4 million.
A public hearing on the budget will be at 6:15 p.m. Aug. 9, prior to the district’s next regularly scheduled board meeting.
BOARD MEMBERS accepted the recommendation of the Building Trades Committee for construction of another house in the Cedarbrook Addition, on a lot provided by the city of Iola.
Iola High students built a house in the addition last year for the first time and final concrete work is expected to be done next week.
The foundation for the second house will be poured before the fall semester starts to give students a running start. The house, containing 1,448 square feet of floor space and three bedrooms, will have a hip roof and be faced with brick to blend in with others in the area.
Following a 15-minute executive session, board members hired Anna Bumgardner to teach physical education at the high school and Lincoln Elementary School.
