USD 437 budget: Mill levy fall ; This marks second year Auburn-Washburn district may see decrease

For the second year in a row, Auburn-Washburn Unified School District 437's proposed budget includes a decrease in its mill levy.

The district presented its proposed 2014-2015 budget at a board meeting earlier this week.

The budget includes a total levy of 53.288 mills, a decrease of 0.612 mills from last year's budget of 53.9 mills.

The owner of a $100,000 home would pay about $612 in property taxes. The decreased mill levy would save that hypothetical taxpayer nearly $8.

Patrons of USD 437 will have a chance to share thoughts on the district's proposed budget during a public hearing set for 6:30 p.m.Aug. 18. The school board is expected to vote on the budget later that evening.

The breakdown of the district's mill levy includes a decrease of 2.022 mills for its local option budget, an increase of 1.202 mills for its capital outlay and an increase of 0.208 mills for bond and interest.

The district's proposed general operating budget is roughly $45 million, said USD 437 superintendent Brenda Dietrich.

The district's general fund, which is its main pot of money, will decrease from $34.6 million last year to $34.1 million this year.

USD 437's local option budget, which is a smaller amount of money used for operating costs, will increase -- from $11.1 million to $11.3 million.

The total assessed valuation for 2013-2014 was $453,987,856, compared to the estimated 2014-2015 total of $453,699,084.

The district had about $2 million in its contingency reserve as of July 1 and $3.8 million in special education reserves.

The total expenditures for the proposed budget is $80,163,092, an increase from last year's 78,773,189. The two main reasons for the increase are the increase in capital outlay and an increase in Kansas Public Employees Retirements System special retirement contribution, said Bruce Stiles, head of finance for the district.

A timeline shows the district is scheduled to submit its budget to Shawnee County and the Kansas State Department of Education on Aug. 25.

The board during its Monday meeting also passed a resolution to refund general obligation bonds, Dietrich said. On July 24, as a result of a favorable market conditions, Oppenheimer and Co. was able to successfully market for the district the refunding bonds totaling $9.5 million, achieving a savings of $441,000 over the life of the bond.

The board also approved the district's health insurance plan from Coventry Health Care for the plan year beginning Oct. 1. The district had Coventry Health Care last year, too, making the move from Blue Cross Blue Shield to Coventry.