School budget with slight cut in tax rate gets final approval

The Grafton School Board on Monday unanimously approved a 2019-20 budget that will be supported by a slight decrease in the tax rate.

Business Services Director Topher Adams presented a spending package including a $0.36 decrease in the tax rate, from $10.57 per $1,000 of property valuation last year to $10.21 per $1,000 for the current year.

Adams said the supporting levy for 2019-20 will be $16.24 million, an $831,374 increase from last year. 

Each year, school districts calculate their revenue limit based on three-year averages of student enrollment. Within that limit, a district receives state aid based on student enrollment, spending per student and property values in the district.

Adams said Grafton expects a 19-student decrease in its average enrollment over three years, with the current state budget providing a $175 increase per student aid. 

The operating budget for the 2019-20 school year is $24.53 million. 

The district’s referendum debt for its $39.9 million school facilities project is also included in the levy. The referendum levy to pay the debt is $2.53 million. 

Adams said the decrease in the tax rate is expected to be offset by a 5.38% increase in equalized property values in  the district, which will also offset a decrease in state aid.

“When you have a drop in membership, especially coupled with an increase in property values, you’re going to have a loss in state aid,” he said. 

Grafton’s state aid is decreasing by $928,240 from last year, but the district will see a $738,582 increase in its levying authority.