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      • Official Notices
      • Policies
    • RSD Goals & Priorities
      • DPI Report Cards
    • RSD Calendars
      • RSD Calendars (Printable)
    • Enroll at RSD
    • RSD Board of Education
    • Referendum Updates
    • Staff Directory
    • Work at RSD
    • RSD Tipline
      • Screen-less Summer
  • Enroll
  • Departments
    • Academics
      • Course Description Book
      • Curriculum & Instruction
      • Academic Career Planning/Grad Reqs
      • Special Education
      • Special Education Resources
      • The IEP Process
      • International Exchange Program
      • Multi-Lingual Learner (ML)
      • Career & Technical Education (CTE)
      • Gifted & Talented
      • Transcript/Records Request
      • Scholarships
      • Scholarships
      • College Credit & Technical Certifications
    • Activities
      • Grease the Musical
      • Art Club
    • Athletics
      • Basketball
      • RCHS Cheerleading
      • Athletic Training
      • Athletic Calendar
      • Athletic Forms
      • Athletics Registration
    • Bus Routes & Transportation
    • District Offices
      • Business & Finance
      • Business & Finance
      • Communications
      • Facilities & Maintenance
      • Human Resources
        • Employment
      • Safety & Security
      • Technology
      • Annual Budget
      • School Funding & Taxes
      • Student Fees
      • Social Media Disclaimer & Guidelines
      • Staff Training & Professional Development
      • Instructional Material Adoption
        • Academic Performance Testing
        • ACT/SAT/AP Testing
      • Enrollments & Transfers
    • Food Service
      • Summer Food Service
      • Immunizations Forms
        • Free Vision Care Vouchers
        • Screenings (Seals on Wheels/Vision/Hearing)
      • COVID Pandemic Response Plan
      • Parenting Tips and Tricks
      • Drug-Free Communities Grant
      • Sources of Strength
      • Crisis Resources
      • Other Community Resources
      • Substitutes
      • Non-Teaching Position Application Form
      • Employee Docs
      • Professional Development
      • Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
      • Position Request Forms (Internal Applicants)
      • Orientation
      • Frontline Absence Manager/Time and Attendance
      • Training Portals
      • SDS Search
      • Food Service Menus
      • Paying Food Service Bills
      • Community Resource Officer
      • Emergency Procedures
    • Homecoming
      • Student Health
        • Immunizations
    • Student Services
      • School Counselors
      • Support Programs
        • Box Out Bullying
      • How to Videos for Staff
      • Missing/Damaged Chargers
      • Resources
    • STING
    • TEALL Programming (Alt Ed)
      • iThrive
  • Get Involved
    • Attend a Board Meeting
    • Employment
    • Substitute
    • Volunteer
  • Resources
    • FACILITIES USE REQUEST
    • School Supplies
    • Referendum Updates
    • Annual Notices
      • Student Health & Student Mental Health
      • Student Services
    • Families
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Our Schools

  • Richland Center Primary School
  • Richland Center Intermediate School
  • Richland Center High School
  • H.I.V.E.
  • PARTNER (Charter)
    Departments : District Offices : School Funding & Taxes
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School Funding & Taxes

School Funding and Taxes

The Richland School District receives money from four sources:

  • Federal Government (about 10%)
  • State of Wisconsin (about 65%)
  • Local via property taxes (about 20%)
  • Grants (about 4%)
  • Other sources such as interest, school fees, etc. (1%)

Property Taxes are established via referendum when district residents vote on the level to which they are willing to be taxed to help fund the school district. This level is called the mill rate, or the taxes property owners pay per $1,000 of fair market property value they own. The Richland School District has maintained a stable mill rate since 2020 at $9.12. 

Though the tax rate has not changed, individuals may see increased school taxes due to increased property values.

Operational (Levies)

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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.

Capital Improvement (Bonds)

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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
How does the Board of Education decide what questions to ask and their tax impact?

District Administration and the Board of Education take this process seriously, balancing the priorities of the district to fund "people, properties, and programming" with the desire to keep taxes affordable to district property owners. They follow a lengthy process in making this decision: 

Gather information and cost estimates

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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.

Create an itemized District "wish list"

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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. 

Gather constituent input

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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.

Finalize Operational (levy) and Capital Improvement (bond) ballot questions, if applicable

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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.

Referedum pass or failure

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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.

If you have questions about your School District taxes, referendum, or school funding, please reach out to the District Business Official. 

  • Image of JONATHAN BOSWORTH
    • JONATHAN BOSWORTH
    • RSD Business Official
    • Email

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Richland School District

1996 US-14 WPO Box 649Richland Center, WI 53581
Phone: 608-647-6106

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