The tax asking needed to support School District #18 for 2016/2017 could decline again this year.
That’s the message Superintendent Dan Polk shared with board members when they met Thursday night.
Describing the school’s financial picture as being in “tremendous shape,” Polk said work continues on preparing the new budget which will be voted on at the September meeting.
While still waiting for county valuations to be announced, he did said he is working to make sure the district takes its 2.5 percent allowable growth.
At the same time, he said the budget has a lot of factors. Yet, the concern of the public has been and always seems to be in regards to the tax asking.
“If we have more tax asking over last year, it won’t be very much,” he said. Any tax asking increase, he went on to say, would be “pretty minimal” and it’s entirely possible the school might have less tax asking.
“That would be a really good thing if we can get it done,” Polk said about the reduced tax asking. In 25 years as a school administrator, he has never seen a tax asking decline two years in a row.
“It would be nice to keep our budget growth maxed out and give taxpayers more relief.”
Polk told the board earlier in the meeting that they have been approved, by the State Department of Education, for levy exclusions totalling approximately $140,000 due to early retirement incentives approved for five instructors earlier in the year.
Polk then turned his attention to summer work projects. He said work will be completed soon on the new parking lot to be located on the east side of the school gymnasium. Once the rock is completed, he said a fence will be erected and several lights put in place which will wrap up the project.
Polk credited board member Robert Hoefer for work done hauling rock. The parking lot needed more than twice the rock originally estimated for the project, which Hoefer assisted in moving in.
With the parking lot there, fans will be able to enter the gymnasium from the east side as ticket takers will be placed there, Polk said.
As for other projects, they were completed on time, Polk said.
Those projects included shop walls, floor installations, etc.
“We’re in great shape,” Polk said.
