Salaries increased for Colfax school board at annual meeting

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX — A resolution was approved at the Colfax school district’s annual meeting to increase the salary by $5 per meeting for school board members and by $50 per year for the board president, clerk and the directors. 

According to the resolution approved at the July 24 annual meeting, all school board members will receive $90 per meeting, an increase of $5 per meeting over the current salary.

The school board president and the clerk will receive $1,000 per year, an increase of $50 over the current salary.

School board directors will receive $650 per year, also an increase of $50 over the current salary.

In addition to the Colfax Board of Education, three other people attended the annual meeting: the high school principal, the special education director and the reporter for the Colfax Messenger.

The resolution on salaries included the provision that the school district will pay mileage to school board members for attending meetings within the district and for travel outside of the district on business pertaining to the affairs of the school district.

Mileage will be paid up to the mileage rate set by the Internal Revenue Service “plus the actual and necessary additional expenses incurred in such traveling.” 

School board members also will receive an increase of $25 per day, a change from $150 to $175, less payroll taxes, to attend the state school board convention.

The salary for school board members will be in effect for one year starting April 30, 2018.

Bill Yingst, district administrator, made the motion to increase the school board salaries, and John Dachel, high school principal, seconded the motion.

The motion was unanimously approved.

Tax levy

Electors at the school district annual meeting approved a tax levy not to exceed $2,843,622.

Adjustments to the levy will be made in October following the September student count, although any increase would not exceed the state’s allowable amount on the tax levy.

The proposed levy for the 2017-2018 budget compares to a levy of $2,875,182 for the 2016-2017 budget, representing a decrease of $31,560.

Total revenue in the proposed budget for 2017-2018 is $8,596,488.

Total expenditures in the proposed budget for 2017-2018 are $8,577,909. 

According to a history of the mill rates in the school district dating back to 1986, the mill rate has hovered in the $8 to $9 range per $1,000 of property value from 2009-2010 to 2016-2017.

Last year’s mill rate was $8.87 per $1,000 of property value.

The highest mill rate since 1986 was $18.89 per $1,000 of property value in 1990-1991. 

The lowest mill rate was $6.38 in 2004-2005. 

The lowest property tax levy amount since 1986 was $1.25 million in 1996-1997, with a mill rate of $13.10. 

The levy in 1986 was $1.45 million, with a mill rate of $16.79.

From 2009-2010 to 2012-2013, the property tax levy has hovered in the $2.5 million range.

Property values

Property value in the school district is listed as $324.19 million for 2016, an increase of nearly $6 million overall since 2015.

The Village of Colfax has experienced a decrease in property value of about $1.5 million to $43.1 million for 2016.

The Town of Cooks Valley has experienced a decrease in property value of about $75,000, down to $11.69 million, and the Town of Howard has experienced a decrease as well, down about $125,000 to $33.83 million. 

The Town of Colfax, on the other hand, has experienced an increase in property value of about $2.3 million, from $74.19 million in 2015 to $76.56 million in 2016.

The Town of Elk Mound has experienced an increase as well of about $100,000.

The Town of Grant has experienced in increase in property value of about $900,000, from $35.43 million to $36.34 million.

And the Town of Tainter has experienced an increase in property value of $2.1 million, from $44.75 in 2015 to $46.89 in 2016.

The Town of Otter Creek has increased in property value by about $84,000, from $36.71 million in 2015 to $36.79 million in 2016.

The Town of Sand Creek has increased by $1.2 million, from $10.06 million to $11.3 million.

Property value in the Town of Wilson has increased by about $300,000 from $17.62 million to $17.92 million.

Personal property

The resolution authorizing the sale of personal property from the school district was amended to include placing notices at normal posting locations and on social media.

Instead of reading, “Any items put up for sale, whether private or public sale, to be listed in the local paper,” the resolution read, “Any items put up for sale, whether private or public sale, to be listed in the local paper, normal posting locations and social media.”

Other resolutions

Other routine resolutions also were approved during the school district’s annual meeting:

• A resolution authorizing the district to provide for the prosecution or defense of any action or proceeding in which the school district has an interest. 

• A resolution authorizing the school district to furnish hot lunches to students in the school district and to pay any deficiency from the lunch program out of the general fund. 

• A resolution authorizing the school board to do short-term borrowing, if necessary, for cash flow purposes.

• A resolution changing the October school board meeting to the fourth Monday of October due to the October 15 equalized aid release date and for setting the property tax levy, and changing the April meeting to the fourth Monday to align with state statute to install newly elected board members. The resolution also changed the November meeting from November 20 to November 13 because of Thanksgiving week. 

• A resolution to exceed the revenue limit on a non-recurring basis for energy efficiency measures and renewable energy products for the 2017-2018 school year in the amount of $179,569.