Onalaska School Board finalizes tax levy at monthly meeting

The Onalaska School District finalized the tax impact that its 2017-18 budget will have.

The tax levy is determined by the amount of state aid, number of students and property value.

State aid increased by $382,000 but the number is a bit deceiving.

“That seems like a significant increase, but the previous year, it was down $264,254,” director of finance Kent Ellickson said. “So, it recovered, then moved up just a little bit beyond that.”

Taxpayers within the School District of Onalaska will pay less for services than last year. The levy is actually less than what the district projected at $9.12 per 1,000 dollars of property value — down from $9.65

“We’re down 41 students for 2017-18,” Ellickson said. “And, when you consider we’re also down 32 for the previous year, you can see we’re starting to do a trend.”