School tax rate slated to drop

The Cedar Grove-Belgium School District’s tax levy is slated to increase by 5.3%, a smaller bump than last year’s 7.7%, which is expected to result in a tax rate decrease.

At the annual meeting on Oct. 9, the School Board and district officials — district residents may attend and vote but nobody else did — approved a total tax levy of $6.4 million, up from $6.07 million last year.  Of that, the general fund increased to $4.61 million from last year’s $4.17 million.

The tax rate is slated to be $6.49 per $1,000 of equalized value, a 2.1% decrease from last year.

That means the owner of a $350,000 home would pay $2,271.50 in school taxes.

The district is receiving about $300,000 less in state aid, District Business Manager Tera Rogers said during her budget report.

Salaries are up by 4.6% and fringe benefits are up by 6%, she said.

The district is losing $277,000 in open enrollment, a smaller loss than last year’s $424,000. This year, 111 students are coming into the district and 117 are going out. Last year, 78 came in and 124 went out.

The district’s property value increased 7.4% from $916 million to $984 million.

Rogers expected to get updated numbers from the state this week. The board may approve the updated budget on Wednesday, Oct. 23.