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Published October 23, 2009, 01:51 AM

School financing continues to change

Although the changes don’t appear to have much impact on the big picture, the numbers affecting the school budget and tax levy continue to change. The good news is that the deadline for any changes is Nov. 1.

By: Meg Heaton, Hudson Star-Observer

Although the changes don’t appear to have much impact on the big picture, the numbers affecting the school budget and tax levy continue to change. The good news is that the deadline for any changes is Nov. 1.

At last week’s Hudson Board of Education meeting, Director of Financial Services Tim Erickson reported about some of those changes including:

  • A decrease of $1 million in property valuation by the Department of Revenue

  • A decrease of $90,000 in computer aid

  • An increase in general state education aid to a total of $23,069,465.

  • $100,000 decrease in the general budget

    The most recent calculations according to Erickson put the total tax levy for the 2009-10 school year at $28,354,002, about $46,600 less than reported at the September annual meeting and an 8 percent increase over last year. That translates into a mill rate of $7.81 per $1,000 of property valuation, a 10.9 percent increase over the previous year.

    District valuation dropped from $3.7 billion last year to $3.6 billion in 2009-10.

    In other business, Superintendent Mary Bowen-Eggebraaten reported that she has been chosen to serve as a Wisconsin ambassador in the Heilongjiang-Wisconsin Administrator Shadowing Project along with seven other superintendents and four school principals. The project is sponsored by the Department of Public Instruction, the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators and the Ministry of Education Beijing.

    The project will involve the visit of a Chinese school administrator to Hudson next month. Bowen-Eggebraaten will visit China in April. The program is funded in part through The China Exchange Initiative. The cost to the district is $1,500. Among the goals of the trip is go learn about Chinese science and math teaching and learning practices and to establish a partnership with a Chinese school to support global literacy through communication and knowledge sharing.

    The superintendent also reported that the Hudson Middle School has been recognized as an “Exemplary Middle School by the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators. The criteria for the recognition included high growth in reading and/or math scores in the past year. The school had math scores in the top percent statewide.

    An article detailing HSD 2025, the district’s strategic plan is featured in the October issue of Wisconsin School News. The title of the article is “Paving a New Path: Hudson School District develops a framework for 21st century learning.”

    The district is also making presentations at the 2010 Wisconsin State Education Convention and the 2010 Wisconsin Promise Conference.

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