Finally, Some Good Economic News: School Taxes Going Down

For the first time this year, the Menomonee Falls School Board could hold a public hearing on their 2011-12 budget proposal with knowledge of what's contained in the new state budget.

Armed with that information, district administrators were able to propose a balanced budget and actually lower tax rates in 2011-12, while maintaining the level of education provided for students.

General fund revenues, which include state and federal funding, fell by 8.4 percent to $46.8 million dollars. In turn, administrators trimmed expenditures by 5.7 percent, and also realized savings in the short-term and long-term.

Overall, the proposed budget features a slight decrease in the equalized tax rate, which will fall from $11.71 per $1,000 of value to $11.62. That equates to a property tax bill of roughly $2,904 for a home valued at $250,000. That’s about $24.22 less than last year.

The total tax levy is $37.9 million dollars, which is 3.3 percent lower than 2010-11.

“In this budget we maxed out our resources to improve learning, maintain class sizes and continue our commitment to education,” said Business Manager Jeff Gross. “We’ve also maintained a Aa2 Moody’s bond rating.”

Gross said only 17 schools across the state, and 246 nationally, tout a better bond rating than Menomonee Falls.

Total revenues from the state dropped by $1.1 million compared to 2010-11, but administrators were able to reap savings in a number of areas to minimize layoffs and maintain education.

The district will save $1.2 million by switching from health providers from the WEA Trust plan to Humana. The employee contribution toward retirement opened $1.3 million is savings as well. The district also expects to reduce its energy and gas usage by 38 percent.

By adding 46 seats through open enrollment, the district will generate about $300,000 in additional revenue, and it stashed away $400,000 from the Federal Education Jobs Act fund.

In the long-term, Gross said the district was able to lower its post- retirement benefits costs. Future retirement liabilities were reduced from $22 million to $6 million overall through their contract agreement with the teachers union.

Despite cutting spending in many areas and balancing a budget in year with tight constraints, some in the audience feel the district still has not gone far enough.

“Forty percent of my tax bill goes to the schools. You get $32 million from the taxpayers, and that equates to roughly $1,100 for every single man, woman and child in this village,” said Keith Lofy, a Menomonee Falls resident.

In 2011-12, the maximum amount of revenue per student allowed to the district is $10,855. That’s basically the amount it costs to educate each student in the district and provide transportation. Lofy compared the per-pupil revenue amount in public schools to tuition costs of private schools.

He said private school education is $8,000 less than what it costs to educat a public school student. He also said private school students usually perform better on standardized tests than public school students.

“You guys need to go on a diet, and start getting what we are paying for,” Lofy said.

At the end of the meeting, Superintendent Patricia Greco said public education funding is hard to compare to private education, which can fund building maintenance and transportation costs in a different way than public districts. 

The School Board will hold one more public hearing regarding the 2011-12 budget on Sept. 12 at 6:15 p.m. This will directly precede the annual meeting, where a vote is taken on the budget proposal.