Madison School Board Grows Taxes & Spending: 6-1 vote

Molly Beck:

Property taxes in the Madison School District will increase by about $67 for the average homeowner as part of the final $392 million 2013-14 budget approved by the school board on Monday.

The board voted 6-1 to approve this year's amended budget and also to set the levy at $257.7 million, a 3.38 percent increase over last year.

That increase is about 1 percentage point less than originally projected in July, before Gov. Scott Walker unveiled his two-year $100 million property tax relief bill that sent an additional $2.5 million in state aid to Madison schools.

Total property taxes will increase by $66.74 on average. That's $39.24 less of an increase than originally expected earlier this year, according to district budget documents. A property tax bill for the average $231,000 Madison home is now estimated to be $2,739.66 for school purposes.

School board member Mary Burke, a candidate for governor, cast the lone votes against the final amended budget and against the levy, citing the desire to see a better balance between the needs of the district and the needs of taxpayers.

"Next year, as we look at this, we really need to look at how many people are struggling to make ends meet," Burke said about the levy increase, noting the district and board should consider whether salary increases among district families are not keeping pace with property tax increases.

Much more on the 2013-2014 budget, here.

The City of Madison's portion of local property tax will grow 2.2%.

Middleton's property taxes are 16% less than Madison's on a comparable home.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at November 7, 2013 12:57 AM
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