Abbotsford School District First Quarter Update

Where have the first two months of school gone? The local fire department just finished up with their fire prevention training with our elementary students, including their smokehouse activity. We thank them for taking time out of their valuable schedules to work with our students. Fall sports have wrapped up their seasons, experiencing many successes, and winter sports are just beginning. The middle/high school music departments wowed the audience with their fall performances. I am sure many of you, like me, cannot wait to hear the holiday concerts at both building levels! We were able to give thanks to our Veterans for their service through our annual Veterans Day program. It was an honor to have Chief Warrant Officer 3, Carl Snyder be our featured speaker. He is also a 2005 graduate of Abbotsford High School. It has been great to see students perform in music, sports, and club activities as the year progresses. We certainly have a lot going on in the district. I will highlight a few of those for you.

Tax Levy Update

At the School District of Abbotsford’s Annual Meeting on October 23rd, the Board of Education approved the 2024-2025 levy of $2,247,348, which calls for a tax levy mill rate of $8.92 per $1,000 of equalized value. The levy and mill rate remain the same as last year.

Our 2021-2022 mill rate was $9.72. We projected the mill rate to remain flat at $9.60 if the $1.5 million dollar referendum passed. Voters graciously approved the FEMA referendum and the 2022-2023 mill rate ended below the projection at $8.68. Last year’s mill rate is also under the projection at $8.92. With our 2024 referendum, we anticipated the levy and mill rate to remain flat, which it has.

The District is able to control our levy (the dollars we ask for). We do not have control over property values. The school tax rate is determined by dividing the school levy by the equalized (fair market) value of District properties. Your property value will impact how your taxes are calculated. The two components used to determine property value in Wisconsin are “assessed” and “equalized” valuation. Assessed valuation is property value as determined by the local municipal assessor on January 1 in any given year. Each year the State Department of Revenue (DOR) applies an equalization factor to the municipal assessed value to ensure that taxes are spread equally amongst property owners.

The adjustment factor incorporates, among other elements, actual property sales in the municipality during the past year and is meant to ensure each type of property has comparable value regardless of local assessment practices and results in the equalized value (fair market value) of a property.

The October 1, 2024 School Tax Apportionment Value Certification is used to divide the District levy amongst the various municipalities in the District and determine municipal tax bills for the 20242025 tax bills. This year the District experienced a 0.24% increase in equalized value. The 10 year average is 4.83%.

How will that play out on tax bills? When the valuations came out from the DOR, there was a shift in tax burden. The city of Abbotsford (Marathon County), and townships of Colby, Frankfort, Hoard, Holton, Hull and Mayville all saw their valuations go up. The city of Abbotsford (Clark County), village of Curtiss, and township of Johnson all saw their valuations go down.

The School Board cannot control how the DOR applies the adjustment factor for each municipality. The School District of Abbotsford’s tax levy includes $241,118 for private school vouchers, which is an increase of $161,974 over last year. According to DPI, there are 22 full-time equivalent (FTE) K-8 residents of our school district participating in the private school voucher program. This results in an additional increase in our levy which we have no control over.

The District has a history of being fiscally responsible and mindful of our taxpayers and will continue to do so in the future. We are extremely grateful for the community support of our great school as we continue to strive to be a school district with excellent staff, programs, and student achievement.

Construction Update

The construction design process started after voters graciously passed our referendum last April. It is now wrapping up and the final plans will be sent out for bidding. Bidding will take place between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Construction will begin in April 2025 and wrap up in the summer of 2026, just in time for the 2026-2027 school year. There will no doubt be minor inconveniences during the construction process. The project will be phased to have the least amount of impact to our normal day to day activities.

Other Updates

The Forward Bank Media Center has been completed at the football field. This project was completed due to the work of the Abbotsford Athletic Booster Club and many donations from local businesses and individuals. This is just another example of the strength and unity of our school and community.

A walking/biking trail has been added to our school forest area. We are working on getting signage added, describing the various plants and trees that have been planted in the area.

There are 600 more trees to be planted this spring, which will complete the forest. The Wisconsin Geological & Natural History Survey just added a water monitoring well in our forest.

During the process they allowed classes out to watch the drilling and taught students about the sediment samples from the borehole. They will also work with classes to bring the ongoing groundwater study into classroom learning.

Have a great holiday season! Enjoy the much needed time with your family and friends! Go Falcons!

Ryan Bargender District Administrator

BE OUR

GUEST

BY

RYAN B ARGENDER SUPERINTENDENT

ABBOTSFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT