School Board Approves 2014-15 Budget
At a special meeting on October 30, the OASD school board approved a final budget of $56,955,000 for the 2014-15 school year, and the final tax levy to support that budget.
School districts get their revenue from two primary sources, general state aid provided by the biennial state budget, and local revenue provided by the local property tax levy. The graphic at right is the 2014-15 OASD Budget at a Glance. (Click here to view larger.)
The maximum amount of revenue allowed to districts is determined by a formula that considers key factors, including enrollment over a period of years and an allowable dollar amount per student. That revenue limit can be considered a “pie” with two halves: State aid and the local levy. When either half of the pie increases, the other half decreases as a result to remain within the allowable limit.
This year the District’s general state aid is $9,801,983. This reflects a 13% increase, compared to the 2013-14 budget amount. An increase in the state aid half of the “revenue limit pie” means that less was required in the other half, the local levy. The amount of the local tax levy approved by the school board was $48,439,752, an increase of $179,100 (or 0.37%) compared to the 2013-14 levy. This slight increase, in light of our continued increase in enrollment, is positive news for taxpayers.
The tax rate (or mill rate) is the amount of taxes paid per $1000 dollars of property value, and is determined by dividing the total amount of property value within the school district into the local tax levy amount. This year, the tax rate is $10.01, which is down from a rate of $10.54 last year. This 5% reduction in the tax rate is another piece of good news for our taxpayers!
One of our District’s commitments to the community is to demonstrate fiscal responsibility by utilizing our resources efficiently and effectively. In the 2014-15 budget, we were able to:
- expand our Mandarin language program
- develop and pilot new innovative learning spaces at Greenland Elementary and Summit Elementary
- provide a number of district-wide facility improvements and classroom updates
- remodel the high school cafeteria
- install improved safety and security measures, including visitor management software
Finally, we provide a high level of professional development for our faculty to ensure we continue to train the well-qualified teachers that our parents and community expect. We’ve managed to do this with an increase of just 0.37% in the total levy and a tax rate decrease of 5%.
We are thankful for our supportive parents and community, who continue to provide the resources for us to Empower a Community of Learners and Leaders!