In
school districts across Wisconsin, the last week of October is
typically the time when school boards set the school tax levy, and most
schools are nearing the end of the first quarter of the school year. In
the School District of the Menomonie Area, this also is a time for a
fall break and a day of professional development for district staff.
On
Monday, October 26, the School District of the Menomonie Area Board of
Education approved the updated budget for the 2015-2016 school year and
set the school tax levy. This year’s total school tax levy will be
$16,891,856, which is $37,887 (.22%) less than last year’s levy of
$16,929,743.
Since
the tax levy dropped and the overall equalized property value in the
school district increased (5.22%), the school tax rate will drop from
$10.64 per thousand dollars of property valuation last year, to the
current rate of $10.09. Owners of property that maintained equal value
over the past year would realize a reduction in the property taxes
levied by the school district, resulting in a savings of approximately
$82 on property valued at $150,000.*
While
students in the SDMA did not have school on October 29 and 30, teachers
and support staff members had one day of inservice and one day off.
Staff inservice is important for providing teachers and
paraprofessionals the tools, resources, and training necessary to stay
up-to-date and highly effective in their jobs.
This
year’s fall inservice included a wide range of professional development
opportunities for our staff including training in the areas of math and
literacy instruction, the interpretation and analysis of student
assessment data, non-violent crisis intervention and intruder response
(ALICE) trainings, grade-level and departmental communication meetings,
and resource/program review work in the areas of science and music.
School
district leaders also spent time sharing useful research about
mindfulness and providing staff members with tools and resources for
handling stress and other mental/emotional challenges that seem to
becoming more common in schools and other organizations in our society.
It is no secret that employee wellness is an important piece to
organizational success, so the healthier that we can keep our staff, the
better results we can expect to see from our students.
Should
school stakeholders have any questions about the school district
budget, staff inservice, or anything else in our school district, I
invite you to visit the Administrative Service Center on Pine Avenue or
contact me at 715-232-1642. More information about our schools can be
found on the school district website (www.sdmaonline.com) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/sdmaonline).
*The
estimated property tax reduction example only includes the school
portion of the property tax bill and assumes that the valuation of the
property remains equal from one year to the next.