MONROE - Despite a significant drop in 4K enrollment, an "anomaly" is helping the Monroe school district with its revenue limit this year, said Business Manager Ron Olson.
Olson presented the preliminary 2015-16 budget at Monday's school board meeting. The board unanimously approved the budget, which will be presented at the annual meeting in October for final approval.
State law held the district's revenue limit - a restriction on how much a school district can raise through general aids and property taxes - at the same level as last year. But a drop in enrollment at the 4K level of about 30 students makes the district eligible for a one-year exemption.
The exemption puts the district in a better position this year than if it saw an increase in enrollment, Olson said. After this year, however, lower enrollment numbers will only lower revenue.
Olson predicts an overall budget deficit of about $854,000 for 2015-16, up slightly from the $700,000 deficit with which the district ended the last school year. He said he expects it to stay below $1 million as the year goes on.
The district's total expenditures for the year are budgeted at about $28.3 million, which represents a .3-percent reduction from last year's final numbers. The final numbers from 2014-15 came in at about $28.4 million, a drop from Olson's original $28.8 million budget.
"Everyone assumes that your budgets just keep growing - that's not been the case with us," he said, pointing out that the budget is lower than it was two years ago.
The budget includes an estimate of 2,461 students enrolled for 2015, marking a drop of 33 students from 2014. Enrollment has been declining steadily since 2013, when it hit 2,524.
Olson predicted the total tax levy for 2015-16 will be $10,982,746, a .68-percent increase over the 2014-15 levy of $10,908,208. He said it would have been higher considering the reduction in state aid, but one of the district's debt payments expired, lowering the debt service levy.
The tax rate would be $10.72 per $1,000 of a home's value, compared to $10.65 last year, also a .68-percent increase. That translates to $804 in school-related taxes for the owner of a $75,000 house, compared to $799 last year. The owner of a $200,000 house would pay $2,145, compared to $2,130 last year.
There will be changes - such as pupil count, state aid and property valuation - that will impact the budget by October, Olson said.
Olson presented the preliminary 2015-16 budget at Monday's school board meeting. The board unanimously approved the budget, which will be presented at the annual meeting in October for final approval.
State law held the district's revenue limit - a restriction on how much a school district can raise through general aids and property taxes - at the same level as last year. But a drop in enrollment at the 4K level of about 30 students makes the district eligible for a one-year exemption.
The exemption puts the district in a better position this year than if it saw an increase in enrollment, Olson said. After this year, however, lower enrollment numbers will only lower revenue.
Olson predicts an overall budget deficit of about $854,000 for 2015-16, up slightly from the $700,000 deficit with which the district ended the last school year. He said he expects it to stay below $1 million as the year goes on.
The district's total expenditures for the year are budgeted at about $28.3 million, which represents a .3-percent reduction from last year's final numbers. The final numbers from 2014-15 came in at about $28.4 million, a drop from Olson's original $28.8 million budget.
"Everyone assumes that your budgets just keep growing - that's not been the case with us," he said, pointing out that the budget is lower than it was two years ago.
The budget includes an estimate of 2,461 students enrolled for 2015, marking a drop of 33 students from 2014. Enrollment has been declining steadily since 2013, when it hit 2,524.
Olson predicted the total tax levy for 2015-16 will be $10,982,746, a .68-percent increase over the 2014-15 levy of $10,908,208. He said it would have been higher considering the reduction in state aid, but one of the district's debt payments expired, lowering the debt service levy.
The tax rate would be $10.72 per $1,000 of a home's value, compared to $10.65 last year, also a .68-percent increase. That translates to $804 in school-related taxes for the owner of a $75,000 house, compared to $799 last year. The owner of a $200,000 house would pay $2,145, compared to $2,130 last year.
There will be changes - such as pupil count, state aid and property valuation - that will impact the budget by October, Olson said.