Final School Tax Levy Even Lower Than Proposed in June

In June, when the had to pass a proposed budget for 2011-12 amid almost chaotic uncertainty about state revenues, the plan called for a reduction in the tax levy that would have saved the average Tosa taxpayer about the price of a cup of coffee — plain coffee.

Now you can buy a whole pot of cappucino.

Instead of a .20 percent decrease in the levy totaling $86,118, this year will see a reduction of the levy of just over $1 million, or 2.41 percent, in the final, revised budget approved Monday night.

"The state pulled back spending and the aid," said district business services director John Mack, "but in the end they reduced the aid less than they did the spending, and that's the reason for the decrease in the tax levy."

Mack cautioned that not every household would necessarily see that hoped-for savings on its school tax bill.

Wauwatosa faces an estimated decrease in the equalized value of its tax base of almost 4 percent over last year, and an estimated assessed valuation decrease of 1.12 percent — thanks to the in a lawsuit that exempts it from paying property taxes on its outpatient clinic.

Once the arcane mathematics of tax rates vs. valuation have been applied, "Assuming no reassessment of your property, taxes should go down about 1.53 percent – about $30," Mack said.

"It may not sound like much, but it's something."

Overall, net school spending will be $6.4 million less than last year, at $82,415,070 compared to $87,015,898.

More than half the spending reduction comes from salaries — down $1 million because of small staff cuts and a universal pay freeze — and a nearly $3 million drop in employee benefit contributions. Both arrangements were agreed to by the district employees' unions and imposed on all non-union staff as well.

Another big hit was a more than 50-percent drop in federal aid, from $5.7 million last year to $2.6 million this year.

Looking closely at line items in the pared-back budget might seem scary for those more concerned about the quality of education than the bottom line on the tax bill.

For instance, the district will spend more than $250,000 less on supplies and more than $175,000 less on textbooks this year than last.

But the backstory on some of those cuts shows they are actually strategic advances. Expensive textbooks are being replaced by e-books, and crayons are giving way to graphic drawing programs, which these days are much cheaper and don't wear out.

Superintendent Phil Ertl ticked off three Power Point pages of advancement programs the district is instituting or expanding, such as elementary Spanish and added AP courses, and said that the Tosa schools would not fall back or behind anyone because of the budget cuts.

"One thing we all know is that money doesn't educate kids," he said. "This budget fully supports our mission.

"There are other school districts that just kind of hunker down in challenging economic times, but we're continuing to grow and move forward."