First draft of Burrell School District budget proposes roughly 4% tax increase

Burrell School District’s draft budget for next school year has just under a 4% real estate tax increase for property owners.

The draft budget totals close to $37.7 million, which is a 3% increase from this school year’s budget, said Business Manager Jennifer Callahan.

The real estate tax increase included in the proposal is 4.5 mills, from 117.5 to 122 mills, Callahan said.

A mill is worth about $151,000 to the district.

Between now and budget approval in June, the district will have to make up a $336,000 deficit.

“A lot of things are not finalized yet,” Callahan said. “There are a lot of things we will continue to try to reduce that deficit.”

Stagnant property growth and reassessment appeals for commercial and industrial properties continue to plague the district, Callahan said.

Burrell’s overall assessed values this year have decreased $524,000 from the prior year, she said, which has impacted school district revenue the upcoming budget year by about $60,000.

“This is the single biggest impact on our district,” she said.

“When we lose this money, we have to make it up somewhere.”

Callahan said major increases in the budget include personnel costs, cyber and charter school payments, special education services and other educational placements, which continue to grow over the years. She noted that those costs are obligated or required to be paid by the district.

The budget also includes funding for an armed security guard at Charles A. Huston Middle School, and security coverage for all after-school events, she said.

In the draft, closing Stewart included $145,000 in savings, but a full amount of savings won’t be realized until the property is sold, Callahan said.

Burrell’s current budget included a 6.5-mill increase from the 2023-24 school year. District officials at the time said a 4.5-mill increase was needed to offset district operating costs, and 2 additional mills allowed the district to start paying for bonds to cover for the future capital projects.

As school officials work through the budget, they’re also tasked with considering a multimillion-dollar school realignment plan in part due to Stewart Elementary closing next year and its students being relocated to Bon Air Elementary and Charles A. Huston Middle School.

A cafeteria addition, air conditioning and boiler repairs at Bon Air are estimated to cost $10 million, district officials say. The cafeteria addition is necessary to accommodate fourth grade classes when they join the school next year, because of Stewart’s closing. Bon Air does not have air conditioning, and its boilers, and heating and ventilation systems, are from 1997.

The school board has already taken out one $10 million bond to cover the projects. The draft budget plans the district taking out another $10 million bond.

If the district wanted to add fifth grade classes to Bon Air for the 2026-27 school year, an additional classroom wing would need to be built. That would increase the cost of Bon Air projects to an estimated $14 million.

The board also is considering an estimated $10 million heating and cooling project at the high school. The high school’s boilers are from 1964 and the school does not have air conditioning.

Had Stewart remained open, the district would have been faced with an estimated $17 million in repairs to that building, on top of the other projects it is considering, said board President Rick Kaczor.