Abby K-12 anticipates major boost in state aid

A substantial increase in anticipated state aid for the Abbotsford School District has presented the school board with a chance to either cut property taxes by as much as $600,000 or pay off additional debt while keeping the levy steady and preventing future spikes.

Ashley Dake, the district’s financial manager, went over the most recent draft of the district’s 2025-2026 revenue limit worksheet with school board members on Monday, pointing out a major increase in estimated state aid, from $8.1 million last year to $9.2 million this year.

“We are very fortunate that we are aided as well as we are,” she said. “Most districts don’t receive the amount of aid that we do, so we are fortunate there.”

At this point, Dake said many of the numbers listed on the revenue worksheet, which is used to calculate the amount of property taxes to be collected by the district, have been carried forward from last year as temporary placeholders. The number of fulltime equivalent students, for example, is currently listed as 791 based on the district’s 2024-2025 enrollment.

State aid, while currently estimated to be $9.2 million, won’t be finalized until Oct. 15, she noted, after which the board will approved the tax levy and mill rate for 20252026. The district’s mill rate for the 20242025 school year was set at $8.91 per thousand dollars of equalized property value, but it could drop to $5.95 per thousand based on current estimates.

Kevin Mullen, a public finance banker at RW Baird Co., also spoke to the board about the reasons behind the increase in state aid. He said it’s the result of two factors: the district’s relative property value per student and the increase in budget expenditures due to the district’s first referendum payments.

“That was anticipated when we did the referendum, but we didn’t expect the aid to grow quite this much, which really is a good thing,” he said Mullens said the numbers for the 20252026 year are still “very fluid,” but “we’ve got a pretty good handle on where they’re tracking.”

The district’s property tax levy has been steady for the last two years, at about $2.4 million, but if all the current aid estimates hold for this year, the amount of property taxes collected by the district could drop to $1.8 million, he said. However, even though the levy could decrease this year, it is likely to go right back up in the following years, he noted.

“As a board, you may want to do what you can to keep that levy stable,” he said.

To do that, Mullens said the board has two options: levy more for community service, which pays for things like the wellness center and school resource officers, or levy more for debt service. Overall, he said it’s a “good position to be in” for the district.

Dake said two of the district’s long-term debts, including a 2009 referendum and the $1.5 million borrowed for the FEMA building, will be completely paid off next year, leaving the district with the $17 million in debt approved by voters last year for new classrooms and other upgrades at the K-12 campus. Last year, in order to keep the tax levy from spiking, she noted that the district underlevied for debt service.

“I feel very confident in what we’re looking at, which gives us some options for the board meeting next month,” she said, referring to the budget estimates.

The board will hold its annual budget meeting on Monday, Oct. 20, at 5 p.m., during which district residents are allowed to vote on the levy, mill rate and other matters. The final mill rate and tax levy will be approved by the board later that night.

Other business

■ Middle/high school principal Melissa Pilgrim said the high school’s new policy requiring students to turn in their smartphones and other devices at the beginning of each class is going really well, with no major disciplinary issues so far. She also reported that the total enrollment, as of Sept. 8, was 385 students in grades sixth through 12th, which is down a little since last year when a class of 80 students graduated.

■ Elementary school principal Abbey Frischmann said staff is working to integrate new students from Brazil, where Portuguese is the official language. She said an informal group for newcomers has been formed to help with the transition. Enrollment numbers from Sept. 10 show 379 students in kindergarten through four grade, an increase of 23 students over this time last year.

■ The board voted to increase the annual membership dues for the district’s wellness center by $25, from $50 to $75 per individual for district residents. For those 60 and over, an annual membership would increase from $75 to $100 for an individual and their spouse. Bargender said the increase should generate an additional $7,900 in revenue per year, which will help replace worn-out exercise equipment and pay for people to supervise the facility.

■ The board voted not to renew the district’s co-op boys cross-country team with the Colby School District, allowing each district to move ahead with its own program.

■ The board approved the hiring of Kaylee Meyer as the new varsity girls basketball coach. Meyer lives in Loyal, works as a personal trainer at Planet Fitness and has experience coaching youth basketball teams. The board also voted to hire Carlos Rosales as a Spanish teacher at the middle/high school. A native of Mexico, Rosales has past experience teaching English as a Second Language and is currently working as an interpreter for a private company. Cecilia Renteria was also hired as a part-time bilingual paraprofessional.

■ The board accepted the resignation of Ruth Yaeger as a cook helper and approved hiring Alison Luedtke as her replacement.

■ The board approved revisions to the district’s facilities use policy, putting the district office in charge of reviewing and approving all requests by groups to use school facilities. The fee for custodial services for larger groups will also be increased from $25 to $45, the first hike since 2018.

■ The board approved the following two district goals for 2025-2026: 1. By the end of the 2025-26 school year, all students in the district will achieve at/above grade level, and/or will meet growth targets in literacy/ content area literacy. 2. By the end of the 2025-26 school year, all students in the district will achieve at/above grade level, and/or will meet growth targets in math/content area math.