So What's A Tax Levy? And Why Did It Go Up?

What is a tax levy?

The amount of money property owners pay collectively to the taxing entity, in this case the Racine Unified School District.

How much is the tax levy?

The district will levy $83,104,000, if the is passed.

How much did it increase?

The levy is estimated to increase $4,544,239, an increase of 5.78 percent over last year.

What is the difference between the levy and the tax rate?

Levies are the total amount collected from the entire district while the rate is the levy spread out over all the taxpayers.

What’s the increase being spent on?

53 percent is allowed by the state as part of the revenue cap formula, which allows the district to replace cuts in state General Aid and High Poverty Aid with a tax levy.

19 percent will be spent on the community service levy, which was restored after eliminating it last year to reduce the tax levy.

13 percent will pay for energy efficiency lighting projects. Finally, the levy for debt service was increased to normal levels after using balances in the fund last fiscal year to reduce the tax levy.

8 percent will be spent on the aid cuts and revenue limit adjustments due to the proposed private school voucher program.

7 percent of the tax levy increase is due to the restored debt service.

The community service fund was created in the 2006-2007 school year to allow for the segregation of financial transactions related to community use of facilities and programs operated for the benefit of the entire community.

SOURCE: Racine Unified School District proposed budget document