By Kevin Boneske
Staff Writer
ASHWAUBENON – A proposed tax levy of $16,565,112 was approved Wednesday, July 11, when the Ashwaubenon School District held its annual meeting in the district office with only one member of the general public showing up.
Business Director Keith Lucius provided an overview of the district’s preliminary 2018-19 budget, which projects general fund revenues and expenditures of $33,470,620, which would be an increase of 2.35 percent from the $32,702,222 budgeted for the previous year.
Lucius noted the budget is built starting with projecting student enrollment, based on the district’s revenue limit being calculated with a three-year average of the full-time equivalent (FTE) number of students who live in the district, currently estimated at 2,237 with the per pupil amount being $9,624.59.
He reported the estimated general fund revenue limit with all exemptions for 2018-19 is $21,891,922 or 65.4 percent of total revenue.
Lucius said open enrollment students, which do not have any impact on the district’s tax levy, are now estimated to account for $9,043,471 or 27 percent of the total revenue, based on 1,118 open enrollment students projected to enroll in Ashwaubenon in 2018-19 with the district receiving $7,372 for each non-special education student and $12,424 for a special education student.
Though the district in recent years has seen a declining trend in the number of resident students, he noted the number of open enrollment students has kept the overall student count around the same level with approximately 1,000-1,100 students planned for at the high school in grades 9-12.
Lucius also reported the estimated amount of all other operating revenue not from the revenue limit and open enrollment for 2018-19 is $2,535,227 or 7.6 percent.
Tax levy decrease
Lucius noted the budget is preliminary at this point and subject to change before being finalized in October.
He said the district tax levy is projected to decrease by 7.05 percent from $17,821,961 for 2017-18 to $16,565,112 for 2018-19.
Lucius pointed out the main reason for the drop in the projected levy is a decrease in the referendum-approved debt service levy from $1.65 million to $300,000.
He said the district has been paying off its referendum debt early and is projecting a $1.35 million decrease for 2018-19.
The bulk of the overall tax levy, the general fund, is now projected to increase by $92,950 to $15,664,695.
Lucius said the district is expecting to receive $6,227,227 in state equalization aid and high poverty aid for 2018-19.