The School District of Wisconsin Dells passed its annual budget, which may receive a boost after the November election.
During a district board meeting on Oct. 24, the board unanimously approved the budget, which carries a tax levy of just under $20 million. That levy will remain the same regardless of whether or not an upcoming referendum of $1.2 million each year over the next four passes during the Nov. 8 election.
Highlights of the budget include a significant percentage increase in state aid from 2021-22 and the $13 million upcoming Performing Arts Center at Wisconsin Dells High School, all of which is covered by a large donation from the Nelson family.
“The overall tax levy is going down $140,110 this year, in either situation,” said district business manager Steven Rhoads in an email. “Our mill rate is dropping from 7.76 to 6.77, even with a passed referendum. If the referendum passes, we will get $1.2 million more in general operating funds and further avoid the potential need for the district to use fund balance to fund daily operational costs.”
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The district’s mill rate, according to Rhoads, is at $6.77 per $100,000 in property value. This is a nearly $1 decrease from last year ($7.76) and will remain the same if the referendum is approved.
Rhoads presented the budget and its breakdown to the board prior to its full-on approval. The board also unanimously passed two tax levies of the same amount ($19,856,872), taking into account the possible passage or rejection of the referendum. The total school levy is slightly less than that of last year.
District administrator Terry Slack mentioned that minor adjustments were made to the budget to balance it for the current school year from its initial August projections.
Rhoads said that the district’s general funding pool could change with the passage of the upcoming referendum. The fund is getting just under $2.4 million less in local tax revenue than in 2021-22, a deduction that would be roughly cut in half with a referendum approval. However, this is offset by the sizeable increase in state aid (just less than $2.5 million) and federal special project grant funds from last year. Overall, the fund has roughly $850,000 more than last year, at just over $23.9 million.
The capital projects fund for the district experienced a massive jump because of the construction of the upcoming auditorium, none of which is financed through tax dollars or other district revenues because of the $13 million donation.
Other funds in the district are not experiencing drastic changes. The school’s food service fund and expenditures are both at $990,000, a decrease from the roughly $1.1 million in 2021-22 because of a significant decline in federal funding stemming from the end of a free lunch program due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The district has access to one-time Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds until 2024 in two remaining segments after one was fully spent last year. Rhoads said that the funds will help offset a “skyrocketing” consumer price index in the district, which is projected to be 8% or more for next year.
Administrative retirement
Brenda Gurgel, the district’s administrative assistant, is set to retire in February.
The board unanimously approved Gurgel’s retirement, scheduled for Feb. 16, during the meeting and all members expressed their gratitude for her work with the district. Gurgel also addressed the board following a round of applause and shared her joy working with the district.
“To work with the board, see how things work in the school and see how passionate everybody is about their jobs, I love my job,” said Gurgel.
In her letter, Gurgel thanked Slack and other administrators, directors, and supervisors, as well as her office coworkers, whom she referred to as her “office sisters.”
“I ask that you reluctantly accept this,” joked Slack about Gurgel’s retirement letter.
Slack went on to say that the administrative assistant position has “evolved as much as anything I’ve seen here” during her tenure. He and board member Jennifer Gavinski both lauded Gurgel’s work with technology, particularly her work with virtual meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You could change your mind,” teased board member Bob McClyman to Gurgel.
New equipment
Following the passage of the budget and subsequent levies, the board unanimously approved the purchases of two new landscaping and work equipment vehicles. Both items combined to cost the district just over $40,000.