Grace Kirchner, Leader Correspondent
Clintonville taxpayers will see a small decrease in their school district taxes this year.
Voters approved a tax levy of $6,283,147 at the district’s annual meeting Monday. Last year’s levy was $6,283,431. The proposed levy assumes no increase in equalized valuation, which which won’t be known until October.
The estimated tax rate will be $11.41 per $1,000 per assessed valuation, the same as last year. A homeowner with a home valued at $75,000 can expect to pay $787 in school taxes this year, compared with $799 last year.
About a dozen teachers and administrators along with a half dozen citizens attended the annual meeting.
The proposed 2015-2016 budget for the general fund and special education fund was set at $18,243,734.
Factors affecting the tax rate include a slight increase in the debt service levy and an increase in the community service levy, which are largely offset by an increase in state aid, according to Superintendent Tom O’Toole.
O’Toole said the biggest impact on the budget is student enrollment, which he said is stable at 1,381 students, but some increase is anticipated. State aid payments from the state are based on student enrollment. The official count is held the third Friday in September.
The budget and levy will be finalized in October after the September student enrollment figures and equalized valuations of property are provided by the Department of Public Instruction.
O’Toole said he believes the district has a good educational program and is doing a good job with the financial resources it has.
Steve Reinke, the district’s building and grounds manager, reported on improvements that had been made in the schools to save energy. There is some new lighting in the high school, improvements to the pool, new windows in the middle school, new handicap chairs at the hot tub and pool, a new sawdust collector system in the work shop at the high school, new carpet in the middle school.
A moisture problem with the pool also was corrected, he said.
Reinke reported that a committee had been formed to study future plans for the 1918 high school building. Discussion has centered on two options: remodel the school, or tear it down, close in the end where it attaches to the Rexford-Longfellow school and do a full remodel for Rexford-Longfellow.