Boyceville school district reviews $8.26 million budget

By LeAnn R. Ralph

BOYCEVILLE  — Electors in the Boyceville school district reviewed the proposed budget of $8.26 million for 2013-2014 with a proposed property tax levy of $3.22 million at the annual meeting Monday night.

Kevin Sipple, superintendent, pointed out that the exact amount of the levy will be determined by October 31 when the school district finds out how much state aid will be received.

Preliminary reports are that the Wisconsin legislature may apply a $100 million surplus to state aid, he said.

If school funding receives additional money, the tax levy will decrease, Sipple explained.

“We may have accurate numbers tomorrow, but if not, we’ll have accurate numbers by the end of the month,” he said.

The projected state aid for this year is $5.37 million.

“That number will change,” Sipple said, noting that state aid is based on equalized value and the number of students in the school district.

This year’s budget of $8.26 million represents nearly a $200,000 increase over last year’s budget of $8.07 million. The budget in 2011-2012 was $8.25 million.

According to a report included with the annual budget, the highest tax levy over the last 13 years was $3.28 million in 2010.

Last year’s levy was $3.14 million.

A levy of $3.22 million would represent a 2.8 percent increase over last year.

The Boyceville school district has a fund balance of $2.21 million, and that is “a good number,” Sipple said.

Because the school district has been working on increasing the fund balance, short-term borrowing can be decreased, and has, in fact, decreased by more than half over the last five years, he said.

The fund balance for 2012-2013 was $2.08 million and was $1.87 million in 2011-2012.

As for other fund balances, food service has a current fund balance of $172,859, which is a $42,000 increase over the fund balance last year of $129,077.

Several capital improvement projects for food service that are planned for this year will reduce the fund balance, Sipple said.

The food service fund balance in 2011-2012 was $80,254.

In other business during the annual meeting, electors approved keeping the school board salaries the same as last year, with the board chair receiving $1,950; the clerk and the treasurer each receiving $1,550; and other board members receiving $1,400.