The Mineral Point School Board held a special meeting Monday night to certify the levy for the 2025-26 school year.
Video link: https://youtu.be/nyUBJvyswNo?si=aWJzqloXmHDBogcE
— The first order of business was to approve the District budget, and the Board did so unanimously.
The budget was approved with a deficit of $163,000. However, the District anticipates additional revenue coming in from medicare reimbursement, special education reimbursement, and open enrollment reimbursement, which is likely to result in a balanced budget at the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year next summer, despite projecting a deficit now.
The Fund Balance will be maintained at 20%.
In some good fiscal news, the amount of referendum money to be used is $275,000, which is much less than anticipated at this time last year — it was estimated the District would need $700,000 of referendum money this school year.
This means, if things stay as anticipated, the November 2024 referendum money will hopefully have a longer positive impact on the District than the original 4 to 5 years that was projected.
(This begins the meeting.)
— The Board unanimously approved the levy, which is a 7.94% increase over last year’s and comes in at $5,560,221. The District has once again had a larger than state average property value increase.
(Go to the eight minute, 45 second mark)
The equalized property value for the District now totals $676,405,444. This total helps to determine the mill rate. The mill rate for this year is $8.22, down slightly from $8.28 last year.
Debt defeasance is being used again this year by paying back the elementary renovation loan sooner, saving some interest costs.
District taxpayer money being sent, by state law, to voucher schools in the WI Parent Choice Program and Racine Counties is $50,990 this year.
A 10 year history of the mill rate is below:
- 2025-26: $8.22
- 2024-25: $8.28
- 2023-24: $8.28
- 2022-23: $9.00
- 2021-22: $10.41
- 2020-21: $11.95
- 2019-20: $12.00
- 2018-19: $10.22
- 2017-18: $12.09
- 2016-17: $12.43
— The next regular meeting of the school board will be Monday, November 10 at 6 pm.