Waukee Schools Lower Tax Rate for the Second Year

From the Waukee Schools newsletter:

For the second year in a row, Waukee Community School District will lower its school tax levy rate. The school board approved the adoption of the certified budget for fiscal year ending June 30, 2014 at its April 8 meeting.

The new levy rate for the 2013-14 school year was set at $16.71. This is a 90-cent reduction compared to the prior year. Last year, WCSD dropped the rate by 19 cents, creating a tax rate of $17.61 for the 2012-13 school year, the district said.

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School taxes are just one of the three major components that help determine property tax. All surrounding cities that help complete the district boundaries will pay the same $16.71 tax rate. If a homeowner’s property taxes increases, this may be because the assessed value of the home has increased or due to increase in the city and/or county taxes.

The $16.71 school tax levy rate was set at the maximum allowed based on the school funding formula – assuming 4% allowable growth. The House of Representatives and Senate have not reached an agreement on funding for schools. The House is at 2% and Senate is at 4%. If allowable growth for the district is less than 4%, the tax rate will be less than the adopted rate. If an agreement is not reached and signed into law, allowable growth will be 0% – reducing the district levy rate to $16.54.

Allowable growth is vital to all school districts, the district said. These funds are used to cover salaries, insurance, utilities and general supply costs. For growing districts, allowable growth is needed to meet the demands of the student population and keep class sizes at a reasonable student-to-teacher ratio.

The Waukee schools tax rate has not been this low since FY 1996 when the rate was $16.27, the district newsletter said.

Anticipated published estimates for surrounding school district tax rates for fiscal year 2013-14 show Waukee with the largest decrease in its tax levy.