LEVY COMPARISONS

 THE OVERALL LEVY PICTURE 

BEFORE & AFTER THE PROPOSED BONDS

In examining the feasibility of proposing a bond election, the Board examined what the overall and comparative levy demand is now and what the overall and comparative levy demand would be subsequent to a successful bond election.  At the end of its deliberations, the Board determined that the current levy demand was not irresponsible or excessive. The Board further determined that levy demand that would follow a successful bond election would not be excessive or irresponsible given the long-term benefits and value provided to the district by the completion of the comprehensive facilities project.

• Below is some information about our current levy and how the current levy would change if the proposed bonds were added to those numbers.

• Further down the page is more detailed information illustrating levy comparisons in our area for the current year (23-24).

Note:

If the proposed bonds receive voter approval in May, they will not be added to the district's annual tax request until the 24-25 budget year.  The 24-25 budget, and the corresponding 24-25 tax request, will be set in September for the coming year.  The estimates provided in these levy illustrations utilize current year numbers as means of illustrating an instantaneous, apples-to-apples increase for adding the proposed bonds to what is in place now.  The Current / Actual 23-24 numbers being used here are highly indicative of the proposed bonds' impact on the future levy, but the actual future levy numbers for next year, etc. cannot be estimated at this time with enough accuracy to tell you what they are likely to be - that is why Current / Actual 23-24 numbers are being used at this time as a basis for comparison.

We currently use 3 taxing funds: General Fund, Special Building Fund, and Bond Fund.

The General Fund is utilized to fund the day-to-day, year-to-year operations of the school district. The General Fund covers costs that would include:  personnel costs, instructional costs, transportation costs, building operations cost, technology costs, and business & administrative costs.  The General Fund will require consistent growth over time as operation costs (the largest being personnel) will consistently increase in a predictable fashion over time. The General Fund is the most reliable indicator of a district's long-term operational efficiency.

The Special Building Fund is utilized to efficiently fund and complete low-level and mid-level facilities upgrades and projects, typically inside of our existing facilities.  The larger of these projects are planned 1 to 5 years in advance with smaller projects typically planned about 1 year in advance.  The cost of these projects and the fact that they do not necessarily occur each year requires a fund that is separate from and parallel to the General Fund.  

It is often reasonable to look at the pairing of the General Fund and the Building Fund together as one can be somewhat temporarily reduced in response to the immediate needs of the other.  However, the Building Fund will often fluctuate between periods of low demand, medium demand, and high demand as facilities needs are identified and prioritized - while the General Fund will have regular and consistent growth over time.

The Bond Fund is utilized to pay back all principal and interest on funds borrowed through the sale of voter-approved bonds.  When bonds are sold, the proceeds are used to finance large building/capital projects - the Bond Fund is only used to pay back the money that is borrowed through the sale of bonds.

In evaluating our levy demand, we will most generally look at three numbers:  the General Fund levy, the combined levy for the General Fund and the Special Building Fund added together, and the Total Levy (the General Fund, the Building Fund, and the Bond Fund added together).

In the first column below, those three values are shown for the current year.  In the second column below, those three values are shown with the estimated levy for the proposed bonds added to the current year's actual numbers.

The Board examines a Regional / Area Levy Summary of tax levies each year.  That summary includes a total of 21 schools in a 5-county area.

In evaluating our comparative levy demand, we will most generally look at the same three numbers that are explained above:  the General Fund levy, the combined levy for the General Fund and the Special Building Fund added together, and the Total Levy (the General Fund, the Building Fund, and the Bond Fund added together).

In the first column below, our comparative rank among the regional / area districts for those three values are shown for the current year.  In the second column below, our comparative rank among the regional / area districts for those three values are shown with the estimated levy for the proposed bonds added to the current year's actual numbers.