Final budget recommendations: zero percentage increase to tax levy

Superintendent Elsie Rodriguez along with Assistant Superintendent for Business and Management Services Patrick Cahill took the podium to present the Superintendent’s Budget Recommendations for the 2023-24 year.

“I want to take a moment,” Rodriguez began, “to thank everyone who contributed to the development of this year’s superintendent budget presentation. It takes a lot of work and collaboration in developing a budget that supports the needs of the students and staff with consideration to the taxpayers.”

The first of the four budget priorities were safety and security. Said Rodriguez, “We have taken a multi-prong approach to safety and security.” Rodriguez said, noting the district-wide safety audit, radios to ensure communication in an emergency, the construction of some security vestibules, a credential exchange for visitors in the buildings, drills, and school resource officers and safety officers in every building. “It remains our number one priority,” she said.

This past December when the voters didn’t approve the capital project, the district sent out a survey, and the feedback suggested that the costs of the proposition were too high, and they recommended that smaller projects be considered and have them included in the general budget.

To address that suggestion, the budget now includes a mechanism called a “transfer to capital.” It allows the District to fund a capital project and bus purchases rather than have a separate proposition, which this year includes the purchase of five buses and the construction of a security vestibule at Central Valley at the cost of $1,150,000 dollars.

Second on the list of priorities was remaining responsive to the changing needs of the students, and after surveying the students for feedback, the district is now offering an additional section in Science Research; an additional section of Music Production; and a new program on Cybersecurity.

“It is important,” said Rodriguez, “that our course offerings prepare our students not only for today, but for future years.” The last two priorities were maintaining the instructional staff, and staff and professional development.”

After providing the extensive formula for the “2023-24 M-W 2% Tax Cap,” Rodriguez said that there is a zero increase to the tax levy for the coming year. It’s important to note, she said, that this is due to the state aid increase of 21.8%, significant enough to give back to the taxpayers. In the slide that featured the historical tax levy percent changes of the last 19 years, this year is the first with a zero-increase percentage: in 2004-5, the levy was at its highest at 6.99% and 2012-13 showed the lowest percentage of 0.89%. Rodriguez then pulled up the Total General Fund Budget slide, which showed a proposed budget of $213,115,925, which she considered “modest.” Part of the presentation also covered the Contingency Budget, should the original budget not pass.

Before moving on to other business, Rodriguez listed the upcoming key dates for the budget vote: the Public Budget Hearing (May 3); mailers go out to the community (May 5); the budget vote at Central Valley (May 16), and should the budget not pass, a second voting opportunity (June 20). Rodriguez stated that since the vote was going to be held at Central Valley, she announced a Superintendent’s Conference Day for that day so that there would not be any students in the building.

The Board voted unanimously to adopt the Superintendent Budget.