Burnsville School District Tax Levy Will Decrease in 2017

The annual operating levy will decline by about 2.4 percent in Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191 in 2017, primarily because debt has been refinanced to lower interest rates. School officials say the District 191 Board of Education has taken advantage of lower interest rates to refinance eligible bonds recently.

This is similar to when homeowners refinance their mortgages to lower interest rates thus lowering their payments.

“We continually review our finances to look for places we can save money and/or reduce costs,” said Lisa Rider, executive director of business services, in a statement. “And we refinance bonds whenever reasonable.”

The annual operating levy approved by the Board in December will raise $38 million for the 2017-18 school year, about $937,193 less than the current year’s levy, according to a news release. The annual operating levy provides about 20 percent of the district's total revenue. School districts receive most of their revenue from the State of Minnesota.

The effect of the school district's levy will vary for property owners depending upon property valuations. Property owners received tax statements from their county in November with details of their specific situations.

Approval of the final property tax levy is the first step in the budgeting process for the 2017-18 school year.

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