Colfax school board approves $3.5 million property tax levy
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Board of Education has approved a total property tax levy for the 2024-2025 school year of $3,543,934.
The combined total property tax levy approved at the October 28 meeting compares to last year’s property tax levy of $3,124,420, representing an increase of $419,514.
An increase in the property tax levy results in a decrease in state aid, noted William C. Yingst Jr., district administrator.
The total property tax levy includes $11,938 for non-referendum approved debt (the tennis court project); $521,013 for referendum-approved debt; $296,500 for the community service fund; and $2,714,483 to represent the difference between the maximum revenue limit allowed by state law, less all of the allowed state aids.
Fund 80, the community service fund, is for the programs not required by state law, such as the Little Vikes daycare program and Summer Saunters, Yingst said, adding that Fund 80 is outside of the revenue limit.
The loan for purchasing additional land, the energy efficiency project and the unfunded pension liability have all been closed out, leaving the tennis court project in Fund 38 (non-referendum approved debt), he said.
The mill rate for the 2024-2025 school year will be $5.81 per $1,000 of property value, which compares to last year’s mill rate of $5.46 per $1,000 of property value, Yingst said.
In 2021-2022, the mill rate was $7.98, and in 2022-2023, the mill rate was $5.98, he said.
The mill rate of $5.81 is the third lowest mill rate in the last 40 years, Yingst noted.
The property values in the school district have increased by 21 percent, and over the last 10 to 15 years, property values in the district have doubled, he said.
According to information in the school board packet, the property value in the district for 2024 is $610,557,092, which compares to a property value in 2023 of $571,858,994.
The difference between this year’s property value and last year’s property value represents an increase of $38,698,148.
Some of the increase in property value may be due to new construction, but the majority of the increase is because of a shortage in housing stock and the willingness and ability of home buyers to pay higher prices to purchase a house.
The Colfax school board also approved an updated budget of $10,566,213 in revenue for the 2024-2025 school year and $10,565,626 in expenses.
Ag teacher
During the public comments portion of the meeting, Colfax school district resident Ken Schmitt addressed the school board concerning the agriculture teacher position.
Schmitt noted that he has two children who have already graduated from Colfax High School and two children that are still in school.
The intent of his comments, Schmitt said, was not to alienate anyone in the administration or on the school board but to make some observations.
Tiffany Schaffner, who had been the ag teacher at Colfax High School for five years, resigned at the beginning of the school year.
In his opinion, Schmitt said, the school district was “putting too much” on the ag teacher.
The ag teacher has small children of her own, and one of the ag teacher’s responsibilities is the Colfax Free Fair in June. The community could perhaps step up and help with the fair, he said, adding that a part-time advisor might be helpful.
Schmitt noted that he had served several terms on the Chippewa County Board and that he understands levy limits and the difficulties of budgeting under levy limits.
“Counties have it tough, but school boards have it tougher. There is not all the money needed for the little things,” he said.
Schmitt said he was not familiar with the projects taken on by the Colfax FFA Alumni, although he was familiar with FFA Alumni groups and had been a member of an FFA Alumni group prior to moving to the Colfax area.
Is the FFA Alumni a resource that could be tapped to assist the ag teacher? he asked.
The agriculture classes and FFA are important to the school district, “and we all have to work together and do something,” Schmitt said.
People making public comments to the school board, as per school board policy, are allowed three minutes to speak.
Todd Kragness, president of the Board of Education, said that he had appreciated Schmitt’s comments.
Clean fuels
During his report to the Board of Education, Yingst said that he and Chad Johnson, who is in charge of the school district’s bus maintenance, had gone to a Clean Fuels Expo in Mondovi to talk about LP buses.
Yingst and Johnson presented information to people in attendance and answered questions.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is promoting electric vehicles, Yingst noted.
Colfax’s average cost for LP, over the years that Colfax has been using LP buses, is 54 cents per gallon, he said.
The cost of LP for the buses is between $1.20 and $1.50 now, Yingst said, but that is still cost effective compared to the price of other fuel at between $3 and $4 per gallon.
With the first LP buses, the tanks were a little smaller, but the tanks are bigger now, and the Colfax school district uses the LP buses to go to state tournaments in Madison and Green Bay without any problems, Yingst said.
“It was a good panel for supporting clean fuel,” he said.
Open enrollment
For the 2024-2025 school year, Colfax has 69 open enrollment students transferring in to the school district and 114 students open enrolling out.
The difference between the number of students open enrolling into and out of the district results in a loss of $412,350 to the Colfax school district, Yingst said.
The student’s home school district receives one-third of the state aid for that student, and the school district where the student open enrolls receives two-thirds of the state aid, he explained.
Colfax will receive $596,832 for students open enrolling into the district and will pay $1,009,182 for students open enrolling out of the district, according to information in the school board packet.
Most of the students open enrolling in and out of the school district live on the edges of the school district, so that it ends up being closer for them to open enroll in another school district, Yingst said.
The Colfax school district also is losing $100,000 to private school vouchers for district residents who have decided to enroll their students in private schools, he said.
Public school money goes to private schools for the school vouchers, and Colfax was expecting school vouchers to cost the district $30,000, but the amount is actually $100,000, Yingst said.
The school district was expecting 3.5 full-time-equivalency students to enroll in private schools, but the actual number came in at 9.5 FTE, he said.
Other business
In other business, the Colfax Board of Education:
• Received a reminder that the Colfax Student Council will be sponsoring a blood drive on November 7 from 12 noon to 6 p.m.
• Received a reminder that the annual Colfax school district Veterans’ Day program will be at 10 a.m. on Monday, November 11.
• Learned that Colfax Elementary will be doing a “Moon Viewing” event as a Family Learning Night on Thursday, November 7, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Astronomers from UW-Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley Astronomical Society will be bringing telescopes and teaching attendants about our solar system. The Moon Viewing event will be held at the Dee Clark Colfax Elementary Pavilion. Hot cocoa, hot apple cider and a snack will be served. The rain date would be Thursday, November 14, at the same time.
• Learned that there are currently 12 children enrolled in the Little Vikes Daycare program.
• Learned that Colfax High School graduate Jean Olson had contacted Yingst about the $10,000 in the scholarship fund for her brother, Tom Olson. Since 2011, one person has applied for a $300 scholarship, leaving $9,700 in the fund. Jean Olson had asked that the remaining money be transferred to the American Legion Post 131 to help fund the project to develop a Veterans’ Memorial at Evergreen Cemetery in Colfax.
• Learned that Carrie Christensen, a music teacher in the Colfax school district, had received $500 from the Jackie Hunt Agency/State Farm Companies Foundation for a rehearsal mirror, and that Carley Kittilson, a second grade teacher in the school district, also had received $500 for “flexible seating” options for her classroom.
• Learned that Colfax, as of the third Friday in September, had 716 students “in seats” while the number of FTEs is 736.6.
• Approved four applications for Start College Now in the Spring of 2025 for General Anatomy and Physiology; Principals of Management; Introduction to Accounting; and U.S. History 1877 to the Present.
Closed session
Following a closed session, the Colfax Board of Education:
• Approved hiring Matthew DeMoe and Lewis Mau to coach middle school boys’ basketball.
• Approved hiring Kari Sedivy and Kirk Secraw to coach middle school girls’ basketball.
• Approved hiring Nicholas Heit as the head high school basketball coach.
• Approved hiring Tristan Kittilson as the junior varsity basketball coach.
• Approved hiring Courtney Sarauer as girls’ high school basketball head coach.
• Approved hiring Carly Kittilson as the junior varsity coach.
• Approved hiring Sawyer Best as the middle school and high school wrestling coach.
• Approved hiring Megan Cormican as the high school dance coach.
• Accepted the resignation of Brittany Sonnenberg as a teacher’s aide.
• Accepted the resignation of Kirk Secraw as the high school baseball coach.
• Approved hiring Patrick Furey as the Science Olympiad advisor.
