The Iola-Scandinavia (I-S) School District approved a $3.7 million tax levy at its annual meeting Monday night.
The 2011-12 tax levy reflects a 5.5 percent decrease from $3.9 million in 2010-11.
District Administrator Joe Price noted that the amount will be adjusted after the state aid numbers are finalized in October. He does not expect any big changes in the levy.
The district’s total equalized value is $404 million. The property tax rate is expected to be $9.30 per $1,000 of a property’s value, which is 5.3 percent lower than the 2010-11 mill rate of $9.83.
The I-S School District’s 2011-12 budget is set at $7.7 million, which is 6.1 percent lower than the 2010-11 budget of $8.2 million. The board credited the budget decrease to the renegotiation of administrative and teacher contracts.
The new contract for teachers saves the district about 6.6 percent in salaries and benefits spending, while the new contract for administrators saves the district about 10 percent in salaries and benefits spending.
The teacher contract also gives the district time “to decide what to do when we no longer have a collective bargaining agreement,” Price said.
Other savings included reducing class sizes in the fourth and sixth grades, and having about $150,000 remaining in the Jobs for Education federal stimulus funds.
The I-S School Board approved two contracts during its regular meeting, held after the annual meeting.
Tess Lecy-Wojcik was hired as a part-time elementary principal. She had retired from the full-time position at the end of the 2010-11 school year. The part-time contract is for 200 days.
John Shepard was hired as transportation director, replacing Tom Hoyord who retired from the position after serving the district for 46 years. Shepard ran his own bus service, tested drivers for the I-S district, and also worked for the Hortonville School District.
“He really does know buses,” said Charlie Wasrud, transportation committee chairman. “He knows what has to be done to have the buses up and running and passing inspection.”
The board also approved a four-year-old kindergarten teacher contract for Derrick Haroldson and a school nurse contract for Jackie Tucker.