State aid cut by $30,000
By Jane Myhra
The Iola-Scandinavia School District predicts a balanced budget for the 2015-16 school year.
Some changes to the budget were presented at the Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Revenues and expenditures increased slightly from the annual meeting projections.
State equalization aid was predicted to be $3.22 million at the time of the annual meeting, but current estimates project a decrease to $3.19 million.
The final aid amounts will be certified by the state on Oct. 15.
This puts more of the burden on local taxes, which increased from $4.055 million to $4.087 million.
Property valuation dropped 1.3 percent, from an expected $402.44 million to an actual $395.1 million. As a result, the mill rate increased from $10.07 to $10.34 per $1,000 of property value.
“With the revenue limit relatively unchanged since the annual meeting, the decreased amount of state aid we are anticipating shifts additional support onto local property taxes,” said Sarah Thiel, business manager for the I-S School District. “The total levy we are anticipating to present later in October is $15,000 more than what was levied last fall.”
Thiel reported that enrollment is declining, but at a rate less than originally anticipated and in line with current projections. According to the third Friday in September count, enrollment dropped from 691 students in 2014-15 to 688 in 2015-16.