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Merton board certifies $6.02 million tax levy and adopts balanced 2025–26 budget
Summary
The Merton Community Board of Education approved a full tax levy of about $6.02 million and adopted a balanced 2025–26 budget, citing a roughly $500,000 shortfall in state equalization aid that increased the district's mill rate to about $3.30.
The Merton Community Board of Education on Oct. 27 approved the district's recommended tax levy and a balanced 2025–26 budget, following a finance committee presentation that said state equalization aid came in well below projections.
Staff member (presenting the finance report) told the board the revenue limit and the administration’s recommendation result in a tax levy of about $6,023,867 and a mill rate of roughly $3.30. "The tax levy then is 6,023,867. So and that creates a mill rate of $3.30," the staff member said.
Board action: Committee member (speaker 6) moved to certify the district tax levies and provided the fund-line figures aloud; Committee member (speaker 10) seconded the motion. The board approved the motion by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the meeting transcript.
Why it matters: the administration said the district learned state equalization aid was about $500,000 lower than expected, which the finance presentation calculated would add roughly $0.35 to the levy projection. The staff member said he has asked the Department of Public Instruction for a meeting to better understand the shifts and improve budget-year forecasting.
Details and next steps: administration noted the district's student-equivalent FTE had increased by about seven students (a modest revenue uptick) but that the aid adjustment was the largest single driver of the levy change. The superintendent’s office will deliver levy paperwork to municipal clerks after posting the levy in the state portal and obtaining required board signatures.
The board also moved to adopt the 2025–26 budget as presented; the motion passed by voice vote at the same meeting. The administration described the budget as a working document that will be monitored and adjusted as revenues and expenditures evolve.
The board will sign and submit the levy documentation to the state portal and the affected municipal clerks in the coming days, as required by state procedures.
