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School property tax levy to go up 13.6% |
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Monday, 10 December 2007 |
Cliff Buchan
News Editor
Don’t like the proposed 13.6 percent property tax increase in ISD 831
for 2008? Blame it on property tax shifts from the state and the
inability of the state to fully fund programs.
When the Forest Lake School Board meets at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 13
at the District Office Building, it is expected to take action on the
recommended levy payable in 2008 amounting to $16,366,469.
That’s an increase of 13.6 percent or $1,9366,469 over the 2007 tax levy of $14,402,050.
The property tax levy includes dollars for all general fund needs,
Community Service and voter-approved debt service. Voter-approved
operating tax levies are also included within the new general fund levy
amount. Some 11.4 million of the proposed levy will go to the general
fund.
The approval on Dec. 13 will come during the board’s second review of
the tax plan as stipulated under state law. The board’s Truth in
Taxation hearing took place Tuesday, Dec. 4 with an audience of two
students and four community members. The meeting lasted 23 minutes.
Board President Bill Bresin said this week he plans to offer the public time to comment during the hearing tonight.
Board action on the levy for 2008 will be taken, Bresin said.
Why the increase
The school district’s entry into the Quality Compensation state teacher
pay program is a major factor in the jump in taxes. The Q Comp program
establishes a new pay for performance funding vehicle that rewards
teachers for extra training, their performance and the improved
academic standards of students K-12.
Q Comp is a pet program of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, said Larry Martini,
director of financial services last week. The goal, he said, is to help
the teaching staff improve which in turn is expected to help improve
student achievement.
But the program comes with a cost.
Forest Lake’s agreement to join Q Comp (the Forest Lake Education
Association voted to approve the plan) carries a price tag. While the
state provides funding, it does not fully fund the program.
For the current school year, the district will collect some $1.4
million in state aid for the program, but must levy an additional
$516,857 against local property taxes to fund the program.
Because the 2007 levy was set before teachers approved the program, the
district will be forced to use two levies for 2008 to cover all local
cost obligations. That means tacking on a second $516,857 levy in form
of an adjustment for prior years.
Teachers in the district have yet to ratify the Q Comp program for the
2008-2009 school year. That vote is expected early in 2008.
Martini said the alternative compensation levy category and other state
shifts from state aid funding to levy funding are placing more of the
burden of funding schools on local property taxes.
Along with the funding for Q Comp, property taxes will also be hit with
an additional $123,861 thanks to a state shift of operating capital
revenue from state aid to the local tax levy. The funds are used for
capital purchases.
Without the dollars in the levy for Q Comp, the district would have
needed a total $930,705 in additional levy dollars for 2008. That would
have been an increase of 6.5 percent as opposed to the 13.6 percent
increase that has been proposed.
Public comments
There were few public comments at the Dec. 4 hearing as most of the meeting time went to Martini’s presentation.
Bob Linwood, Forest Lake, however, did lambast the board for its tax proposal.
Linwood, who earlier spoke against the city of Forest Lake’s tax and
spending plan for 2008, turned his attention to the school district
last week. With current property values presenting a false picture of
what actual values are today, Linwood said taxpayers are going to be
hit hard.
“I just wonder what you people are thinking,” Linwood said,
commenting on the 13.6 percent proposed increase. He said he was also
troubled that the district intends to spend more than it takes in
during the 2008-2009 school year.
“I can’t spend more than I take in,” he said. “I can’t run my budget like that.”
He predicted property values would tumble some 20 percent by 2009.
According to district figures, the local property tax amounts to 14
percent of total district revenue. State aid funds 79 percent of the
budget while federal funding covers 3.4 percent of spending. Some 3
percent comes from fees and other minor sources.
Some 80 percent of district expenditures are staff related.
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