Buoyed by enrollment, budget offers tax break

The Grafton School District’s enrollment has risen for at least the second straight year and its tax rate is projected to fall for at least the fifth.

That’s according to numbers in the annual meeting information booklet.

Last year’s tax rate of $7.04 per $1,000 of equalized property value is estimated to fall 71 cents (10%) to $6.33.

That means the owner of a $300,000 home would pay $1,899 in school taxes, $214 less than last year. The owner of a $500,000 home would pay $3,165, which is $356 less than last year.

Tax rates in the district have been falling since at least 2021-22’s $9.28. In 2022-23, the rate was $7.83. In 2023-24, it was $7.42, then $7.04 last year.

Enrollment has been on the rise the past couple of years. The Sept. 15 count of students in school this year was 2,205, an increase of 24 from last year’s 2,181, which was 48 higher than 2023’s 2,133.

Elementary and middle school populations are changing this year after a referendum funded an addition to John Long Middle School for fifth-graders. Its population went from 453 to 611, while  Woodview Elementary School’s fell from 493 to 430 and Kennedy Elementary School’s went from 499 to 435.

The general fund is slated to increase from last year’s unaudited $29.388 million by nearly $341,000 to nearly $29.729 million.

The district’s equalized value is projected to increase $410,000 (15%), from $2.735 billion to $3.145 billion.

The annual meeting is at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 22, in the high school library.