Schools
Final Budget Approved by Greendale School Board for 2011-12
The 2011-12 Greendale School District budget and tax levy are now complete.
Most Greendale residents will not see an increase this year on the school district portion of their tax bills. That is the result of the budget adopted by the Greendale School District at their Board of Education meeting on October 24, during which they also certified the tax levy.
The total levy this year is down by $3,114, a .02% reduction over last year, and the overall budget expenditure is down over 8%, at $32 million. That comes despite a seven percent drop in state aid, which translates to a loss of $814,412.
According to Erin Green, the Director of Business for the district, this favorable levy decrease is essentially due to rising resident enrollment, which generates more funding. The Greendale School District gained 26 full time resident students this year, while the open enrollment population has decreased from 394 last year to 345 this year. The total student enrollment in the district is 2,644 students, with 2,240 being resident students.
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Other contributing factors, according to Green, include seventy percent of the district staff participating in the new high-deductible health care plan as well as improvements being made in the village which may help ease the burden on residential taxpayers.
Green said despite the district having one of the lowest family income and property value rates per pupil, it also has one of the highest achievement rates.
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Greendale Superintendent William Hughes noted that throughout this difficult year, the district, Citizen Budget Team and other concerned community members, have concentrated their efforts to financially plan for the success of the Greendale Schools.
“The budget delivers a commitment to respectable class sizes, a comprehensive educational program from four-year-olds to high school graduates and funding for cutting-edge learning materials - with no increase in the local tax levy,” said Hughes.
“Going forward, next year will be tougher, but I know that the Board of Education and core district leaders will be focused on minimizing the impact on youth and children.”
The completed 2011-12 budget is available for viewing on the school district website.
