A Productive End to the First Quarter

A Productive End to the First Quarter
Posted on 10/29/2015

In school districts across Wisconsin, the last week of October is typically the time when school boards set the school tax levy, and most schools are nearing the end of the first quarter of the school year.  In the School District of the Menomonie Area, this also is a time for a fall break and a day of professional development for district staff.

On Monday, October 26, the School District of the Menomonie Area Board of Education approved the updated budget for the 2015-2016 school year and set the school tax levy.  This year’s total school tax levy will be $16,891,856, which is $37,887 (.22%) less than last year’s levy of $16,929,743.  

Since the tax levy dropped and the overall equalized property value in the school district increased (5.22%), the school tax rate will drop from $10.64 per thousand dollars of property valuation last year, to the current rate of $10.09.  Owners of property that maintained equal value over the past year would realize a reduction in the property taxes levied by the school district, resulting in a savings of approximately $82 on property valued at $150,000.*

While students in the SDMA did not have school on October 29 and 30, teachers and support staff members had one day of inservice and one day off.  Staff inservice is important for providing teachers and paraprofessionals the tools, resources, and training necessary to stay up-to-date and highly effective in their jobs.  

This year’s fall inservice included a wide range of professional development opportunities for our staff including training in the areas of math and literacy instruction, the interpretation and analysis of student assessment data, non-violent crisis intervention and intruder response (ALICE) trainings, grade-level and departmental communication meetings,  and resource/program review work in the areas of science and music.  

School district leaders also spent time sharing useful research about mindfulness and providing staff members with tools and resources for handling stress and other mental/emotional challenges that seem to becoming more common in schools and other organizations in our society.  It is no secret that employee wellness is an important piece to organizational success, so the healthier that we can keep our staff, the better results we can expect to see from our students.

Should school stakeholders have any questions about the school district budget, staff inservice, or anything else in our school district, I invite you to visit the Administrative Service Center on Pine Avenue or contact me at 715-232-1642.  More information about our schools can be found on the school district website (www.sdmaonline.com) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/sdmaonline).

*The estimated property tax reduction example only includes the school portion of the property tax bill and assumes that the valuation of the property remains equal from one year to the next.