B-T approves budget with surplus

The Blair-Taylor School District’s annual meeting had more good news than bad for district taxpayers as the annual budget was approved last week Monday.

While taxes will rise for the current school year, they aren’t going to be as high as originally projected and — in a rare move for any government entity — the district will not levy the full amount it could. Despite taxes not being as high as they could be, the district still projects to have a surplus at the end of the year. 

A budget showing revenues totaling $11,436,154 was approved with expenditures at $10,818,213. The difference could be even greater should the district not have to spend $400,000 it has budgeted for athletic track repairs. That number is budgeted in case the surface underneath the rubber track also has to be repaired, which isn’t expected to be the case. Prior to the annual meeting, the board approved those repairs that would only cost $160,000 should only the rubber need to be replaced.

The levy will increase about 15 percent from about $4.2 million to $4.7 million. The tax rate of $8.87 per $1,000 of assess value is lower than the $9.45 figure that was projected when district taxpayers approved a referendum last spring, though higher than the $8.62 that constituents paid in 2022-23. 

That referendum allowed the district to exceed revenue limits by $1.5 million per year for three years, when it was passed superintendent Lynn Halverson said the district would not use the money if it did not have to. With an increase in state funding, some grant money and reimbursements, the district is levying approximately $480,000 less than it could. 

“As a district, we’re doing what we say and saying what we do,” Halverson said. 

Part of the reasoning for the referendum was to rebuild the fund balance back to $1.5 million. Current projections show that the balance will already be up to $1.3 million at the end of this year. Board member Perry Kujak said rebuilding the balance without spending the maximum amount of taxpayer dollars “looks like a double win.” 

“It’s definitely looking brighter for our district to be able to serve kids to the best of our abilities,” Halverson said. 

While the increase in tax rate appears minimal, taxpayers should expect to see an even greater increase in the school portion of their bills. Halverson said part of the reason the district did not levy the full amount was because property valuations increased more than expected. When the district proposed the referendum, it did so with a projected four percent increase in property values, the actual average increase district wide was nine percent. 

Halverson noted that valuations in the city of Blair went up an average of five percent, that will make up roughly 23 percent of the tax dollars the district receives. Other municipalities saw an even greater increase, however, as Halverson noted the town of Albion property valuations increased by 16 percent. “So, in the end, they’re picking up a bigger share of the district levy,” Halverson said. 

In all, equalization increased by about $44 million in 2023. Each municipality saw an increase, though the amounts varied. The town of Preston pays about 20 percent of the district’s taxes and saw an average increase of about seven percent. The town of Ettrick had an average increase of 10 percent and will go from paying 17.05 percent of the taxes to 17.4 percent. Town of Springfield residents saw an average increase of 10.7 percent and will pay 14.38 percent of the district’s taxes compared to the 14 percent it paid in 2022-23. The other municipalities all make up less than five percent of the district’s taxes. 

While the tax bills will be higher than a year ago, Halverson said 92 percent of constituents will see lower tax bills than they were projected to receive when the referendum was approved. 

“We’re getting what we need and also giving some relief to the local taxpayers as well… compared to what it could be,” Halverson said. 

The district is also adding a new fund this year as it introduces Fund 50, which will set aside tax dollars to help pay for community events that are held at the school. The $50,000 in that fund will come from what was already going to be levied. 

“It’s a common practice among many school districts, especially since schools are the hub of many communities,” Halverson said. 

A week earlier, the Whitehall School District discussed doing the same in 2024-25. 

Another reason for the referendum was to increase pay in order to attract and retain staff members, the 2023-24 budget showed approximately a $400,000 increase in instructional costs. Halverson said the more competitive compensation model allowed the district to attract replacements for positions that opened late in the summer. 

During the course of the annual meeting, district resident Roger Foegen motioned to increase the salaries of board members to $2,500 annually with increases from $50 to $75 for special meetings, school co-op meetings and half-day or evening events and an increase to $125 from $100 for full-day meetings. The motion passed unanimously, though board members expressed reservation about voting for their own increases. 

In the regular meeting, the board approved a 2025 summer trip to Austria, Switzerland and Germany for students currently in eighth-to-11th grade. 

The board also approved a modified salary structure for coaches that will tie their coaching salary to a percentage of their base pay, the length of the season they coach and if their season runs prior to the start of the school year. 

“Coaching is not getting any easier with time,” Halverson said. “It’s a high-pressure job, you basically hear a lot of complaints versus the praises.”