School tax rate to climb by a dime

The Cedar Grove-Belgium School Board last week approved the 2024-25 levy after receiving updated financial information from the state.

The updated tax rate is $6.73 per $1,000 of equalized value, up 10 cents, or 1.5%, from last year.

That means the owner of a $300,000 home will pay $2,019 in school taxes.

It’s the first tax rate increase the district has had since the 2015-16 school year.

“The board does not like the idea of raising taxes. However, the biggest impact is coming from the cost of the vouchers. This is money that we are not given by the state, but required to pay,” District Business Manager Tera Rogers said.

“There are also no checks and balances put in place for us to verify these numbers. The state just tells us what to pay.”

The voucher program provides public money for children to attend private schools.

This year, Cedar Grove-Belgium is paying $137,738 more for the program for a total of $628,468 and an impact of eight cents on the tax rate.

The tax levy is $4.837 million, up $223,490 from last year.

State aid is down nearly $33,000 to $6.382 million, due to a smaller enrollment in the state’s three-year rolling average funding formula and district property valuation, Rogers said.