MONROE - Initial budget figures for the Monroe school district shows school spending could increase about 3.1 percent next year.
At Monday's school board meeting, Business Manager Ron Olson presented a first look at how budget numbers are shaping up as the district looks at revenues and costs for the coming school year. Preliminary figures show the district will include $31,249,810 in its general fund, a 3.1 percent increase from the current $30,310,056 budget.
That could mean district taxpayers will be looking at a 5.9 percent change in the total levy; the initial estimate shows a levy of $12,594,734, up from the 2009-10 levy of $11,892,687.
And if that holds true, assuming an increase of about 1 percent in the district's equalized value, district taxpayers could be looking at a mill rate of $12.41, a 4.9 percent increase from this year's $11.83. Under that scenario, the owner of a home assessed at $150,000 in the district would pay about $1,860 in property taxes for school purposes, up from $1,775.
But Olson cautioned all numbers are preliminary and will likely change as the district spends the summer reviewing and refining the budget. There are still many unknowns, he said, including how much state aid the district will receive.
Also unknown is how much of its referendum authority the district wants to use, Olson said. The initial budget includes levying $9,605,905 of its referendum authority, which is about $2 million less than the $11,572,757 it could levy beyond the state-imposed revenue cap.
Olson will present more detailed budget information to the school board next month. After a summer of scrutiny, the final budget will be presented at the district's annual meeting in October.
Much can change between now and then.
"It's a long ways between now and October," Olson said.
At Monday's school board meeting, Business Manager Ron Olson presented a first look at how budget numbers are shaping up as the district looks at revenues and costs for the coming school year. Preliminary figures show the district will include $31,249,810 in its general fund, a 3.1 percent increase from the current $30,310,056 budget.
That could mean district taxpayers will be looking at a 5.9 percent change in the total levy; the initial estimate shows a levy of $12,594,734, up from the 2009-10 levy of $11,892,687.
And if that holds true, assuming an increase of about 1 percent in the district's equalized value, district taxpayers could be looking at a mill rate of $12.41, a 4.9 percent increase from this year's $11.83. Under that scenario, the owner of a home assessed at $150,000 in the district would pay about $1,860 in property taxes for school purposes, up from $1,775.
But Olson cautioned all numbers are preliminary and will likely change as the district spends the summer reviewing and refining the budget. There are still many unknowns, he said, including how much state aid the district will receive.
Also unknown is how much of its referendum authority the district wants to use, Olson said. The initial budget includes levying $9,605,905 of its referendum authority, which is about $2 million less than the $11,572,757 it could levy beyond the state-imposed revenue cap.
Olson will present more detailed budget information to the school board next month. After a summer of scrutiny, the final budget will be presented at the district's annual meeting in October.
Much can change between now and then.
"It's a long ways between now and October," Olson said.