EM school district puts $300,000 toward debt service tax levy this year
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
ELK MOUND — The Elk Mound school district will be levying $300,000 less for debt service this year because of leftover referendum money.
The school district cannot write out a check to each individual taxpayer for the leftover money from the last school referendum, so this is the best way to give the money back to the taxpayers, said Eric Wright, district administrator, during the Elk Mound Board of Education’s September 16 meeting.
The debt service payment for the 2024-2025 school year is $1,167,000, so the $300,000 from the leftover referendum money will be applied to the debt service payment, he said.
The school district ended up with $500,000 remaining from the referendum projects.
The money was invested at a 4 percent interest rate, Wright noted.
Brian Brewer of Baird Financial spoke to the Elk Mound Board of Education at the September of 2023 meeting about the options available for the school board to return the money to the taxpayers in the district.
Voters in the Elk Mound school district approved the $15 million referendum question in April of 2020.
One option was to invest the remaining referendum money for 18 years, earn interest money on the investment, and use the interest earned to put toward paying down the debt.
If the $500,000 were invested for a year, for example, at 5 percent interest, the investment would earn $25,000. At 3 percent interest, that would amount to $15,000.
The second option was to use half of the money, approximately $250,000, to pay toward the debt one year and then to use the other $250,000 to put toward paying down the debt the second year in order to help keep property taxes flat so the taxes do not increase for two years because of debt service.
Referendum projects included updating the woodworking and metal shops at Elk Mound High School; building a new high school band room; building a new Elk Mound Middle School gymnasium; remodeling the old middle school gymnasium into classrooms; updating the high school locker rooms; expanding the high school weight room; improvements to the swimming pool; and athletic field improvements.
The Elk Mound Board of Education approved the second option last year for paying back the money by applying it to the debt service for two years.
Other business
In other business, the Elk Mound Board of Education:
• Received a reminder that Homecoming week at Elk Mound High School will be September 30 to October 4. A pep assembly will be held October 4 at 1 p.m., and the homecoming parade on Friday, October 4, will begin at 2:30 p.m.
• Learned that parent-teacher conferences at Elk Mound High School are scheduled for October 10.
• Learned that the Elk Mound Booster Club’s annual fall craft sale is scheduled for October 19.
• Approved the safety drill that had been completed. After the incident at the school in Georgia, Elk Mound is even more conscious of completing the safety drills, Wright said. The safety drills are a requirement for the safety grant awarded by the state of Wisconsin to the Elk Mound school district.
• Accepted the resignation of Bethany Hubbard, part-time paraprofessional.
Following a closed session, the Elk Mound Board of Education approved hiring Tiffany Schrantz as a part-time food service employee.
The Elk Mound Board of Education meets next on October 28.
