Colby K-12 predicts drop in tax rate

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Colby School Board discussed the 2024-25 school year budget and approved the property tax levy for the year at their budget hearing and annual meeting held before their regular board meeting on Monday.

While the final numbers will need to come in from the state equalization aid before the final budget can be approved, the proposed levy is projected to be down from recent years.

The board approved a projected tax levy of $3.1 million for the 2024-25 school year at a mill rate of $4.93 per thousand dollars of property value. This is down 14.28 percent from the $3.6 million levy for the 2023-24 school year and is the lowest the levy has been since 2015.

While the mill rate had remained steady between $9.1 and $9.7 between 2012 and 2020, the past few years have seen it drop significantly as the equalized valuation of homes has risen dramatically. In 2020, the mill rate was $8.04 and has dropped down each year, despite the fact that the 2023-24 tax levy was the largest it had been in the past decade. After the equalized value of property in the district jumped 17.4 percent in 2023, it is estimated to see another 12.3 percent increase in 2024.

Of the approximately $3 million dollar levy, about $2.1 million is to be set aside to support the general fund expenditures for the school year, which is down from $2.4 million in 2023-24. Also down is the money set aside for the referendum debt service fund, which was at $920,725 in 2023-24 and is now at $696,675 this year. Both of these are down from the $2 million set aside for referendum debt payment in 2022-23.

The total proposed revenues for the 2024-25 school year are $15.2 million while the proposed expenditures are slightly below that. All figures are subject to change at the October board meeting when the board will approve the final budgets upon receiving additional information from the state.

See COLBY K-12/ Page 7 Colby K-12

Continued from page 5

Final ESSER projects

The school board also approved a bevy of projects that will utilize funds from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. The U.S. Department of Education program was created to help maintain elementary, middle and high schools during the COVID-19 pandemic and further aid them to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

With the program to end in September, the school district put forth a number of projects that could be funded by the federal program.

These included the purchase of additional learning materials to help students recover from potential learning loss experienced during that time and various upgrades to the HVAC or air circulation systems in the school buildings.

About $41,000 in ESSER funding is to be spent on STEM, English and history learning materials, as well as a new set of Chromebooks.

The board also approved projects that will replace the air volume controls in the middle school classrooms, the large ceiling fans in the middle and high schools gyms, and an HVAC remodel in the new faculty planning room. These projects will cost approximately $82,000 combined, funds that the district will be using through the ESSER program.

An additional set of bleachers for approximately $7,800 will be purchased using the final portion of ESSER funds. These bleachers will be used in the pool area and can also be moved and used outside at the baseball or softball fields or for other events as necessary.

Other business

■ ■ The board approved the purchase of a set of radios that can be used by staff to remain in contact with each other or with other buildings in emergencies.

The district is looking to purchase the 12 radios for $5,292, which would allow communication from one end of the campus to the other and would give personnel such as school principals and the school police officer a quick and easy way to communicate across schools in the event of an emergency. It was also noted that the radios could be utilized for organization of sports like track or cross country meets or other events.

■ ■ Lisa Brill, the library media specialist for the district, presented a three-year plan for the schools’ library and media centers to the board for approval at their Monday meeting.

It was cited that the elementary school library is currently seeing about 1,500 books circulated per month, while the middle school library sees about 1,800 books circulated per month.

In comparison, the high school only sees about 30 books checked out per month. Finding a way to increase high school circulation was one of the library’s goals this year, with exploring a set time for students to go to the library with the express purpose of checking out materials to creating contests or events to increase interest noted as potential options.

■ ■ The school board will be hosting referendum open house nights in which members of the community can tour the school facilities to see what improvements or additions the district is looking to make with their proposed referendum. The open houses will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 18, Tuesday, Oct. 1 and Monday, Oct. 14, from 6 to 8 p.m.