Vouchers, community service spending fuel tax hike

The Port Washington-Saukville School Board on Monday approved a 2021-22 budget that provides funding for new positions and increased public use of school facilities but will result in higher tax bills for most district residents.

The tax hike comes during a school year in which the district’s revenue limit, which controls much but not all of its ability to levy taxes, remains unchanged. Yet, the tax levy will climb by $617,888 (3.6%), and that is because of a sharp increase in the number of district students attending private schools through the state’s voucher program and higher spending for services provided to the community — two areas that do not fall under the revenue limit.

The amount of state aid the district will lose through the voucher program will increase by $192,000, or 37%, this school year, climbing to $708,932.

The Wisconsin School Choice Program pays for private school tuition for children in 4-year-old kindergarten through 12th grade whose families are financially eligible. The public school districts in which these children reside lose state aid for those students but can make up for it by increasing property taxes.

“Ultimately, taxpayers in the community are paying for this,” Director of Business Services Mel Nettesheim said.

“Whether the increase in vouchers we’re seeing is due to Covid is hard to tell. This has been just such a unique time because of the considerations, like the health and safety of students, involving Covid.

“I hope that instead of another increase next year we’ll see this number will go back down or at least plateau.”

The budget also includes a $127,828 increase in community service spending, which because it benefits the pubic does not factor into the revenue limit. 

The increase covers the district’s share of the school police officer, which until this year had been paid entirely by the City of Port Washington, and reflects increased  public access to school facilities, Nettesheim said. 

“We’re providing more community access, and with that we have to budget more money for facility maintenance, custodial services and security,” she said.

Also contributing to the community service fund increase is money for a recreation coordinator, a position proposed by Nettesheim that in addition to managing the current public use of facilities could oversee a significant increase in community programs ranging from before-and-after-school child care to yoga for seniors.

“These are community buildings,” Nettesheim, referring to the district’s five schools, told the Finance Committee last week. “If our kids and community members can use them and we have the capabilities to accommodate them, let’s do it.

“And the nice thing about offering programs through the district is they would also be open to Saukville residents.”

The committee endorsed the proposal, and although money is budgeted for the position, the board will still need to formally create it.

While the 2021-22 tax levy will increase, the tax rate will drop by 32 cents (3.5%) to $8.65 per $1,000 of property value due in large part to a 7.98% increase in district property values. That is an average that includes a high increase of 9.3% in the City of Port Washington and a low of 3.4% in the portion of the Town of Saukville that is in the district. 

But just because the tax rate goes down doesn’t mean tax bills will follow suit. In fact, the opposite will be true for many taxpayers. 

A City of Port Washington home valued at $175,000 last year — an example used by the district but one that administrators concede is low — is worth $191,292 this year for the purposes of taxation because of the 9.3% increase in property value, and its owner can expect to pay about $83 more in school taxes this year.

A City of Port Washington home valued at $200,000 last year is now worth $218,600 for the purposes of taxation, and its owner can expect about a $97 increase in school taxes.

Residents of communities in the district where property did not appreciate as much will see smaller increases in their school tax bill or, in some cases, possibly small decreases.

Other dynamics in this year’s budget include a 12% increase in the district’s WEA Trust health insurance premium that will cost it nearly $600,000, inflation that has increased the cost of materials and services across the board and raises for teachers equivalent to the 1.23% consumer price index. 

The district’s student enrollment is both bad and good news for the budget. Enrollment increased by more than 90 students this year, but because state aid is calculated on a three-year average, that won’t help the district immediately. 

At the same time, it will lose a declining enrollment exemption — a state funding device intended to protect districts from the financial repercussions of significant swings in student numbers — worth $422,208.

The district plans to spend $287,945 in fund balance to pay for digital screens at three schools and new Chromebooks for students, but Nettesheim said she hopes Covid-19 relief funding will restore the fund balance. 

The budget also calls for spending $3.2 million in principal and interest on money borrowed for the 2015 referendum projects.