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Oshkosh Area School District approves 2024-25 tax levy, overall levy reduced about 5%
Summary
The Oshkosh Area School District Board of Education approved the 2024-25 tax levy on Oct. 23, adopting a plan that the district says reduces the overall levy by about 5.05% and lowers the district mill rate from $9.08 to $7.90; board members debated prepaying debt and how reassessment will affect individual taxpayers.
The Oshkosh Area School District Board of Education on Wednesday approved the district's 2024-25 tax levy, a measure the administration presented as a 5.05% reduction from last year that will lower the district's mill rate from $9.08 to $7.90.
Board President Sherry Wyman opened the discussion and turned the presentation over to district staff. Superintendent Dr. David Davis described the levy as an effort to balance short-term tax relief with long-term facility stability.
The levy presentation by district staff explained the main drivers: a one-FTE increase in the three-year revenue-limit enrollment (largely tied to higher summer-school minutes), higher-than-expected voucher costs (about $400,000 more than budgeted), and an increase in equalization aid that reduced local tax pressure. Staff said the state’s new “levy credit” accounting increased the district’s listed levy credit from roughly $12.8 million last year to about $14.7 million this year, which the district said helped lower the net levy.
Board members debated how much prepayment of debt should be included in the levy. Several members praised the approach as fiscally responsible and forward-looking; at least one member said the choice to prepay debt at the level proposed should be left to voters. No change to the proposed levy levels was made during the meeting.
During the roll call, the board adopted the levy as presented. The motion and second were made on the record; the final tally was recorded as a majority in favor with one board member recorded as voting no. The board clerk announced, “Resolution carries.”
Why it matters: District staff said the levy reduction is intended to partly offset property revaluation impacts from the city and to maintain funds for long-term facility needs discussed in ongoing community feedback sessions. District leaders said they will present a sample tax bill and an explanatory video in December to show how the levy and the state levy credit appear on homeowners’ tax statements.
The board scheduled no additional votes on the levy; staff said they will provide a taxpayer-facing demonstration of how the school portion of the bill is calculated in December.
