By Dave Fidlin
CORRESPONDENT
Although several pieces of the puzzle still need assembling, plans are in motion to decrease Waterford Union High School’s property tax levy 0.02 percent for the new school year.
Several dozen residents attended WUHS’ annual meeting Aug. 24 and voted unanimously in favor of the proposal. If the plan moves forward, it will be the sixth consecutive year the high school has lowered its tax levy, which is its largest source of income.
Reflecting the wishes of its fiscally conservative-leaning School Board, WUHS has a history of levying less than what is allowable under state statutes.
As he presented attendees with details of the projected budget, Superintendent Keith Brandstetter said this year’s expected $7.78 million levy could be increased by as much as $500,000 and still fall within the state statutes.
“We’ve been able to do it for a while now,” Brandstetter said of refraining from levying to the state’s max. “But we can’t do it much longer because there could be some implications.”
Despite the anticipated drop in taxes, WUHS’ overall budget is set to increase $353,282, from $13.18 million a year ago to $13.54 million for the new 2016-17 school year.
To shore up the difference between a tax decrease and an overall budget increase, officials anticipate using several methods, including reserve cash in the fund balance. State aid, the district’s second largest source of income, also is expected to increase and mitigate the impact.
Although final numbers will not be tallied until Sept. 16, Brandstetter said he is expecting a slight decrease in student enrollment this school year, compared to the prior year. WUHS historically has hovered around 1,100 students.
WUHS’ budget assumptions for the new school year are built around a mill rate of $4.23 per $1,000 of equalized value, the same figure as the 2015-16 school year. Because WUHS serves multiple municipalities, the exact impact could vary from one community to the next.
Throughout the district’s boundaries, equalization values have increased dramatically in the past 25 years. During WUHS’ 1990-91 school year, equalization values came in at $367.78 million. In the 2015-16 school year, equalization values across the four municipalities totaled $1.83 billion.
Brandstetter said equalization values increased five times more than the amount levied in taxes. During the 1990-91 school year, $2.23 million in taxpayers’ dollars funded school operations, while the levy stood at $7.78 million in the 2015-16 school year.
In addition to official enrollment counts, there are a few other pieces that could change the district’s budget before the School Board makes a final vote on the levy in late October. Brandstetter, however, said he did not anticipate any significant changes.
Budget building in WUHS is a nearly year-round process. When the 2016-17 budget is minted, Brandstetter said the process of constructing a 2017-18 school year budget will begin in November.
“It’s not like we say, in June, ‘Hey, let’s put a budget together,’” Brandstetter said. “There’s a lot that goes into it.”
-
-
-
-
-