Fairfield Area SD proposes 1% millage increase, plans $699,000 in capital work from fund balance

Scott, the district presenter, proposed a 1% millage increase on the district’s budget line during a budget presentation, saying the change would raise the millage from 12.2357 to 12.3581 and increase the average assessed homeowner’s tax bill by about $28.

The recommendation rests well below the Act 1 index for the coming school year, which Scott said is 4.1%, and he contrasted the district’s recommended 1% with the 4.1% statutory maximum without voter approval. "I'm recommending a millage rate increase of only 1%, which would put the millage rate up to 12.3581," Scott said.

Scott walked the board through the district’s approach to budgeting — a line-by-line method intended to approximate zero-based budgeting — and described proposed revenues and expenditures for the coming year. He presented proposed revenues of $4,094,000 and proposed expenditures of $24,793,000, and said the district would use fund balance to cover planned capital spending rather than increasing taxes for those projects.

On capital needs, Scott listed immediate repairs and replacements that officials described as near-term priorities: failing freezer compressors at both the elementary and high school, a second payment on stadium lights, an aging elementary-school generator, a gym alarm detector and a maintenance-shed roof (listed in the presentation at about $85,000). He said approximately $699,000 would come from fund balance to pay those capital items. "We would be spending out of fund balance. We're not increasing taxes to fund these projects," Scott said.

Board members pressed on the long-term effects of incremental tax increases. One board member warned that taking small increases year after year could require larger increases later; Scott responded that much of the near-term spending is capital work funded from savings and that the district has seen some growth in its tax base. Scott said the district's tax base increased by about $9.6 million, which he estimated would produce roughly $118,000 in additional revenue this year, and reported a 97% real-estate tax collection rate.

Scott also outlined benefit and pension pressures: benefit costs (including payroll taxes and insurance) are rising and he said pension-related rates have hovered in the mid-30s percentage range, with projections that could push them toward roughly 36% in later years. He noted the district receives a subsidy that offsets about 50% of those pension expense entries in revenue calculations.

On federal grants, Scott said ARP/ESSER funding is ending and the district will primarily continue to receive Title I, II and IV money; he said he reduced Title funding estimates in the budget presentation and reminded the board that any extra federal grant dollars must be spent on those grant programs. Scott gave recent figures for Title allocations collected and projected amounts but emphasized that federal grant receipts are matched by corresponding expenditures.

Robert Stanley, who identified himself in public comment as mayor of Fairfield, urged the board to consider senior citizens and residents struggling with rising costs as it reviews the budget. "I would just ask that once again, consider our senior citizens and the folks who are having trouble staying in their homes," Stanley said during the meeting’s public-comment period.

Scott told the board the near-term calendar: the board will take a vote on the proposed budget at the next meeting, the district must advertise the proposed budget and provide at least 20 days for public inspection, and the board’s final adoption vote is expected at its June meeting (June 22 was cited in the presentation).

No formal vote on the proposed budget occurred in this session. A board member moved to adjourn at the end of the meeting; the transcript does not record a vote on that motion.

The next regular board budget meeting was announced by the chair to be Monday, May 18 at 7 p.m. in the district courtroom.