Tuesday, June 27, 2006

...Buried in the Story...

Most bloggers know that the first few paragraphs are informative--but the stuff WAY IN THERE is even moreso:

Elmbrook School District electors on Monday approved a 4.5% increase in the property tax levy for the 2006-'07 school year, the largest levy increase in four years.

The district's tax collections rose 3.5% for the 2005-'06 school year, 4.1% for 2004-'05, 3.7% for 2003-'04, and 4.5% for 2002-'03, according to state Department of Public Instruction data.
However, because of Elmbrook's healthy tax base growth, the equalized tax rates continued to decline.


Under tentative budget figures presented at Elmbrook's annual meeting, the School District's estimated tax rate for December 2006 property tax bills would be $9.57 per $1,000 of equalized value, down four cents, or less than half a percent, from $9.61 per $1,000.

Yah, well. Elmbrook taxpayers expect that the value of their properties will increase forever, we suppose.

But that's not the fun part. HERE'S the red-flag-with-fireworks:

[Pre-paying some debt] is intended to lessen the blow to taxpayers in future years if they approve a referendum to upgrade the district's two high schools. If a referendum is approved, annual debt service costs would rise sharply, raising property taxes

Last time we looked, those "upgrades" could run $120 MILLION or so.

It's the fourth-last paragraph in the story.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

But it's for the children!

[Gag]

Dad29 said...

Yah.

Actually, you can tour the high schools and see the damage the State's DPI has done with mandates. The State required (e.g.) internet access--Elmbrook installed it--and then the technology changed, leaving Elmbrook with outdated crap slopping all over the place.

Same with the "expert" consultants who decreed that classrooms should have X square feet--forgetting that class materials and room hardware requirements may increase, cutting into the square footage available to the sweaty little bodies...