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Superintendent: Shorewood faces $1.3M state aid estimate loss, projects higher tax levy
Summary
Superintendent Laurie Burgos told the board the district expects about $1.3 million less in state equalization aid, anticipates the local tax levy may rise roughly 8.3%, and noted a $250,000 increase in special education reimbursement; administrators urged public attendance at the Aug. 26 annual meeting for further detail.
Superintendent Laurie Burgos told the Shorewood School District Board on July 8 that preliminary state estimates indicate a drop in equalization aid that will increase local tax levy pressure.
"We will be receiving about $1,300,000 less in state aid this time around," Burgos said, adding that the change "doesn't impact the total revenue" in her words but shifts more of the burden to the tax levy; she said the district currently anticipates the levy could go up about 8.3% absent additional mitigation.
Burgos also reported a projected roughly $250,000 in additional special education reimbursement that will help offset the district's more-than-$2,000,000 special education costs. She described national and state-level funding developments: administrators cited a national discussion about roughly $7,000,000,000 in federal funds that could be withheld from K-12 programs and summarized a state Supreme Court-related release of Act 20 funds (about $50,000,000 statewide) with approximately $9,000,000 of that earmarked for literacy coaching and an initial plan to hire up to 64 coaches available to districts.
Administrators urged the public to attend the district's annual meeting on Aug. 26, where Burgos said staff will present the local impact of state and federal budget decisions and review strategies to limit levy increases, including prepayment of district debt and other mitigation measures already underway.
Board members asked follow-up questions about timing, the composition of the aid estimate and how those shifts should be reflected in the district budget and communications. Burgos and staff said they will include additional detail and attach slides from the July presentation when they return the R2 report for board action.
