Final state budget numbers nudge school tax rate up

The Cedar Grove-Belgium School District tax rate climbed by 42 cents from the projection at the district’s annual meeting last month to when all the numbers came in from the state.

The rate is $6.63 per $1,000 of equalized property value, meaning the owner of a $300,000 home will pay $1,989 in school taxes.

The rate is lower than last year’s $7.04, despite the district approving a $21.5 million referendum in April 2022. Debt payments that fell off when the referendum payments started nearly kept the tax rate flat, avoiding wild swings that are more difficult for the public to swallow.

The district’s tax levy at the Oct. 11 annual meeting was slated to be $5.692 million, up about 7.7% from last year’s $5.286 million. District voters unanimously approved it.

That number is now $6,079,500. The board unanimously approved it on Oct. 25.

The closing of the tax incremental finance district in Belgium also affected the levy and rate. TIDs are economic development tools in which municipalities pay for development costs in the district with tax revenue from the TID for a certain period of time. The idea is to increase the property value inside the TID, boosting the tax base once the it closed.

Belgium’s TID was valued at $424,900 in 1995 and accrued $58 million in value before it closed in September 2022.

District property values also impact the tax rate. Those went up by 22% this year, more than the state average. Individual taxpayers may see different fluctuations in their property values, depending on where they live since municipalities experienced different property value changes. The district covers Cedar Grove, the Village of Belgium, a portion of the Town of Belgium and the Town of Holland.

“There are so many factors,” district Business Manager Tera Rogers said.

One of the biggest changes in this year’s budget is voucher payments for private schools. The number of students who live in the district but choose to attend private schools didn’t necessarily increase, Rogers said, but the per-student allotment from the state increased. The district is paying $430,000 in vouchers, a 78% increase over last year.

“It’s not flow-through money,” Rogers said. “It’s directly out of our pocket for students who are never in our seats.”

The state, she said, does not provide information on which students use vouchers so districts can verify if those students live within the boundaries, Rogers said. The state only gives a dollar amount.

The district’s fund balance, essentially a savings account for emergencies, was unchanged from last year’s $4.32 million. That’s equal to 34% of the district’s general fund expenditures. Most accounting firms recommend 20% to 30%, Rogers said.