School finance is a tricky thing. School districts have to operate under some fairly non-intuitive financial requirements, and have the responsibility to communicate this as best we can to the community. As we have tried in the past, Associate Superintendent Mike Zelek and I have attempted to make the tax levy process as transparent as possible.
In the below video, we've tried to strip away as much of the jargon as we can and communicate how the district goes about requesting a levy amount. Basically, it boils down to three things:
In the below video, we've tried to strip away as much of the jargon as we can and communicate how the district goes about requesting a levy amount. Basically, it boils down to three things:
- Last year's levy amount adjusted for inflation
- Any new property that hasn't been brought into the tax extension yet
- The district's bond schedule
We don't have much leeway as to what we're requesting, and we estimate the amount requested as best we can - as you'll see, some of the numbers we use are based on estimates from the county.
As always we are happy to answer any questions about the process, and our contact information is shown at the end of the video.