The North Crawford School Board approved a 2013-14 budget of $6,649,301 calling for a school tax levy of $1,739,248 a 1.79 percent increase over the previous year’s budget.
In the 2012-13 budget there was a .29 percent increase in the tax levy over the 2011-12 budget. That budget for 2011-12 was a 4.86 percent decrease from the 2010-11 budget.
This year’s budget did include an extra $24,000 in state aid added by the governor and state legislature to reduce property taxes.
While the property tax levy rose by 1.79 percent, the equalized value of property owned in the district also increased by .819 percent. The ultimate result to the taxpayer is a mil rate of 9.68. This means property taxes for the school district on a house with an equalized value of $100,000 would be $968.
The mil rate increased .09 from last year’s mil rate of 9.59. The tax levy of the 2013-14 budget remains lower than the tax levy of the 2010-11 budget.
North Crawford School District Administrator told the board that the district did see an increase in enrollment membership of two students. This increase affected the three-year rolling average of students and meant there was some decrease in the declining enrolment funding the district receives. However, Davies pointed out the increased enrollment did not significantly impact the amount of state aid the district would receive.
Overall, Davies told the board that as a percentage of budget the funding amount raised from the tax levy decreased and state aid increased.
School board vice president Miguel Morga moved to approve the 2013-14 North Crawford School District Budget as presented. Board member Judy Powell seconded the motion. The budget was approved 5-0 on a roll call vote. In addition to Morga and Powell, Aaron Fortney, Terry O’Donnell and Michael Bedessem voted in favor of the motion. North Crawford School Board President Mary Kuhn and school board member Tina Volden were absent.
In other business, the North Crawford School Board:
• heard a report on proposed changes to Policy 524 Staff Health that would require less mandatory TB skin testing and target more at risk individuals for the test in light of a shortage of tests
• accepted the resignation of junior varsity girls basketball coach Hillary Day
• heard about the resignation offered by cheerleader advisor Emily Allen, but decided to approach her with a reduced workload offer to see if she would reconsider
• accepted the retirement notification of North Crawford School District bookkeeper Donna Bell effective at the end of the 2013-14 school year
• approved an unpaid leave for two weeks in November for guidance counselor Hillary Day to travel to China with her sister to adopt a child
• approved Nicole Peth as the junior varsity girls basketball coach
• heard that Mrs. Harden’s fourth grade class was resuming making routine visits to the Sannes Skogdalen Nursing Home in Soldiers Grove
• heard a report that bus evacuation drills had been concluded
