School Funding & Taxes

Levy dollars support student enrichment programs not fully funded by the state, such as: 

• Student programs
• Teacher pay, for additional teachers above the state minimum
• Instructional assistants in classrooms 
• Textbooks, curriculum, and teacher training
• Additional course offerings for students
• Athletics
• Arts and music
• Special education
• Bus transportation (not fully funded by the state)
• Building and grounds maintenance (not fully funded by the state)
• Computers and technology
• Gifted education programs
• Community use of facilities 

Why are voters asked to approve levies every two to four years?
By law, operations levies can only be proposed for a period of four years or less. Typically, school districts propose levies of two, three, or four years. After the allotted number of years, the levy expires. Voters must approve a renewal of funding, or local financial support for schools. Generally, the levy you are voting on simply replaces one that is about to expire.

By law, bonds may not be used to pay for the day-to-day costs of operating schools or school districts. Bonds provide funds only for capital projects, such as:

• Resurfacing parking lots/fixing roofs
• Updating buildings through the replacement of aging infrastructure (like HVAC systems, technology, etc.)
• Renovation or modernization of schools and athletic facilities

The District Administration, together with the Board of Education committees, establish the District's needs and priorities. To set priorities, the District gathered this information via staff and parent surveys in 2023. The results were distilled into 3 priorities: 

1. Making Connections with Students and Addressing Their Mental Health
2. Recruiting and Retaining High-Quality Staff
3. Get Our Students College and Career Ready

Additionally, the District partnered with Nexus Solutions to conduct a study of all RSD facilities to create priorities and estimate costs for improvements and updates of priorities.

The District Administration then creates an itemized "wish list", with estimated costs and tax impacts (in 2023, these ranged from NO tax impact to an additional $1.40 per $1,000 of property value). This was presented to the Board of Education. This information is publicly available in our Board Books here. 

To help determine what rate voters will support and which wish list items constituents support, the District partnered with the Morris Leatherman Company to poll 400 randomly-selected RSD residents. The results of the survey were presented in a Special Board Meeting, which was recorded and posted here.

The District Administration and Board work together to analyze voter feedback data and, if appropriate, propose two questions to voters based on the level of support indicated in the phone survey. In a given calendar year, the District can propose ONE Operational and ONE Capital Improvement question to voters. The question is proposed to voters on the ballot.

If the referendum passes, the District can begin to work through its wish list of items based on the feedback of priorities it received from voters during the randomized poll. If it fails, the District must make the appropriate cuts to maintain a balanced budget.