Superintendent's Message for March 2024

March has arrived and we are enjoying some great weather, but I wish we could get some moisture for the farmers.  I have heard we could have a wet spring, but the weather has a mind of its own!  Our spring sports will start soon and the weather can be a challenge for those events.  We hope our athletes will be able to participate in all of their events this spring.

This month I will continue to explain a general overview of school finance, the budget process, and how it relates to your property tax.  The district has five main funds we use to finance the school's day-to-day operations. 

The General Fund provides money for salaries, curriculum and programs, and transportation costs.  We receive revenues for this fund from state aid, property taxes, and federal and state programs.

The second fund is the Management Fund.  This fund is all property tax revenue and pays for property and casualty insurance, workers compensation, early retirement incentives, local government risk pools, unemployment, mediation, and litigation. 

The next fund is the PPEL Fund or Physical Plant Equipment Levy.  This fund finances the building/grounds improvements and repairs, buses, vehicles, technology, equipment, and lease agreements.  PPEL is funded through property tax and/or income surtax. 

The fourth fund is the Debt Service Fund, which funds principal and interest on long-term debt for buildings and athletic facilities.  The revenue for this fund is all from property taxes.

The SAVE (State Penny for Infrastructure) fund is similar to the PPEL fund.  We use this funding for building improvement projects, equipment, buses, vehicles, and technology.  The revenue is from statewide sales tax. 

We also have a Student Activities Fund that supports athletics and co-curricular activities.  Revenue is generated from fundraising and student fees from these groups.  The fund includes all activities and athletics at Southwest Valley.  The Food and Nutrition fund supports the food/nutrition program, staff salaries and benefits, food costs, and equipment.  The last fund is the Enterprise Fund for the Early Childhood Education Center account.  Tuition fees and grants solely support this account.

As we review all of these accounts, we realize that property taxes support many of these funds.  This is true.  The district does account for a percent of your property taxes.  In my six years with this district, I have made it a point to keep our property tax rate between $15.00 and $13.00.  This month, you will receive a tax purpose statement in the mail from the county auditor.  This statement will inform you of the upcoming school hearing where proposed property taxation for the next fiscal year will be presented.  Currently, we continue to work on our budget and tax rate as we wait on decisions from the Iowa legislature.  The “effective tax rate” would be a rate produced by holding current taxation constant while using next fiscal year’s taxable values.  I encourage you to attend the hearing or contact me if you have questions regarding our tax rate. 

In April, I plan to cover some of our projects the district has used the different funds for.  Have a great month of March!