Local taxes rise for Raymond School district residents

By Jason Arndt

Correspondent

      Citizens in the Raymond School District will pay an extra 9 percent in property taxes, after electors approved a new tax levy at the district’s Oct. 21 annual meeting.

      School officials point to a reduction of state aid and declining enrollment as factors driving up the local levy.

      “It is very rare that school districts do not levy to the max, because it affects our state aid and, with the last two years of decreases, we don’t want it to happen again,” District Administrator Joseph Dawidziak said.

      Last year, owners of a $100,000 home paid $773 in Raymond School District taxes. Owners of a $100,000 home will be billed an additional $80 for the 2013-14 school year.

      “That is roughly an increase of $6.66 per month,” Dawidziak pointed out.

      In the Raymond School district, property values have dropped 1.26 percent when compared to the 2012-13 school year. School officials had figured on a 1 percent increase in district property values while crafting the 2013-14 budget.

      The district has lost $164,595 in state aid this year as a result of the formula used by the state to determine aid.

      In the state formula, significant factors used in aid calculations include student enrollment, local property values and the net cost of general and debt service funds.

      Dawidziak noted: “If we don’t levy to the max we obviously won’t balance the budget” to board members at the meeting.

      Raymond School District, located in Franksville, has a total of 426 students enrolled. Of those, 25 percent are children who attend as part of the state’s open enrollment program.

Property Tax Relief Bill

      Monday night, school officials discussed the newly signed property tax relief bill by Gov. Scott Walker, but determined it makes little impact on the Raymond district’s tax base.

      Dawidziak said he had considered beforehand whether the district might be receiving more money that could then be used to reduce the 2013-14 tax rate.

      But when the state figures came in, Raymond officials learned the school district will only receive an additional $129 total as a result of the new $100 million property tax relief bill.

      That $129, spread over the district’s entire tax base, equates to a zero percent increase, Dawidziak explained. He indicated other Wisconsin school districts might be helped by the new bill, but added: “We’re not one of them.”