During Monday night’s Carroll Community School District (CCSD) Board of Director’s meeting, an agreement was made to move forward with the proposed certified budget of $36,495,804 for fiscal year 2018. To meet the expected costs, a total tax levy of $10.36 per $1,000 of taxable valuation will be required. This represents a jump of $1.28 per $1,000 of taxable value from the current rate of $9.08. Nearly half of this increase amount will come from the voter-approved 67 cent Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) for the stadium reconstruction project. In Iowa, a large portion of a school’s budget is determined by certified enrollment, and CCSD’s enrollment has declined by 221 students in the last 16 years. Despite this drop, Superintendent, Rob Cordes, says students in Iowa get equitable funding regardless of school size.
The formula to determine program cost is certified enrollment times the state cost per pupil, or $6,664. This serves as another important indicator of what a budget may look like, and Cordes says this year’s growth is the lowest seen in five years.
The public hearing for the proposed budget will be held at noon on Wednesday, April 5 in the Adams Elementary School boardroom.
