Ogilvie school board hears Truth in Taxation presentation outlining 2025 levy, budget and bond proceeds

Sam Hilly of Baird Finance presented the Ogilvie Public School District’s Truth in Taxation review, walking the school board and members of the public through how taxes levied in 2024 will be collected in 2025 and applied to fiscal year 2026.

Hilly said the presentation was intended to go beyond the statutory minimum and to explain the district’s finances in three time frames: the finalization of the FY2024 audit, the FY2025 budget, and the FY2026 tax levy. “Taxes are levied in 2024 to be paid and collected in 2025 for fiscal year 2026,” Hilly told the board, noting that school districts commonly work across those three overlapping years.

The presenter summarized the district’s major levy funds and their drivers: the general fund (driven primarily by adjusted pupil units), the community education levy (based on district population and early-childhood counts), debt service (including a statutory 105% annualization factor to prevent shortfalls) and an OPEB levy for post-employment benefits. Hilly highlighted that the building-construction fund shows a roughly $5.4 million deficit that is timing-related and tied to the way bond proceeds are recognized across fiscal years.

On the operating side, Hilly pointed to a projected general-fund surplus of about $400,000 for the budget figures currently available (FY2025 figures were presented as unaudited). He also noted smaller deficits and surpluses in other funds: food service (≈$125,000 deficit), community education (≈$26,000 deficit), debt service (≈$43,000 positive) and student activity (≈$30,000 positive).

Hilly provided sources and composition of district revenue, saying Ogilvie receives a large share of its revenue from federal aid (presented as the largest single source) and that local levies account for just under a quarter of the district’s revenue. He reviewed the November 2022 referendums that created a 10-year operating levy (initially $720 per adjusted pupil unit and indexed for inflation in later years) and two bond questions (not-to-exceed borrowing amounts presented as roughly $7.0 million and $2.0 million).

Enrollment trends were central to the presentation. Hilly showed a six-year enrollment history and calculated per-pupil sensitivity: for FY25 he estimated one pupil generates about $11,739.04 in revenue; he said a swing of five students equates to about $60,600 in revenue and that a decline of roughly 40 students would translate to an annual revenue decrease on the order of $460,000.

On taxation for pay 2025, Hilly said the district’s aggregate levy would increase by just over $73,000 (about 3.1% aggregate) while the general fund levy itself was projected to fall slightly (about a 1.63% decrease, roughly $17,000). He said the debt service levy is increasing year over year by about 6.7% (roughly $80,000) driven by offsets and certain gross-debt-service items that will phase out over the next levy cycles.

Hilly explained property-class impacts, noting the homestead market-value exclusion increased (from $30,400 to $38,000 for pay 2025), which reduces tax impact for qualifying residential homesteads; he emphasized commercial and non-homesteaded parcels do not receive that exclusion. Using county and MDE data, he showed example impacts for an average home and compared Ogilvie’s levy and tax burden against 11 nearby districts, concluding that Ogilvie’s per-property pressure is higher primarily because its taxable base (net tax capacity and referendum market value) is smaller than many comparables.

Hilly reported capital- and grant-related items: an electric-bus purchase with an all-in cost just under $430,000, offset by grants and rebates of about $395,000, leaving a general-fund net cost of about $34,631.75 if approved; voluntary pre-kindergarten funding that yields about 8.5 adjusted pupil units beginning in FY25; and approximately $369,000 in unspent bond project funds (plus modest interest) remaining for planned projects.

The presenter said Bergen KDB has conducted on-site audit work and that the district review and audit presentation timetable may still affect final FY24 audited results. He reminded the board that county auditors in Cannebec, Mille Lacs and Isanti would need notification if the levy is certified.

Board members asked brief clarifying questions and thanked the presenter. A public commenter raised strong concerns about future tax increases; Hilly reiterated levy mechanics and voter-approval processes. The board set levy certification for its Dec. 16 meeting at 6 p.m. and then moved to adjourn; member Smith moved to adjourn, member Wilder seconded, and the motion passed.

What happens next: the school board is scheduled to certify the taxes payable 2025 levy at its Dec. 16 meeting; the district’s FY2024 audited numbers, when finalized, could further adjust budget projections.