— A 2024-25 Detroit Lakes School District property tax levy of $9,953,011 is expected to be finalized following a truth-in-taxation public hearing set for 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 16 in the Detroit Lakes City Council Chambers.
The Detroit Lakes School Board unanimously approved the preliminary levy certification at its September meeting. According to Jason Kuehn, the district’s director of finance and operations, the total marks a 2.9% increase (about $280,000) over the 2024 levy of $9.53 million.
“This is the least amount (of) increase since I’ve been in this position,” said Kuehn, adding that he became the district’s finance director four years ago. “It’s usually been between 4-7%.”
Though the levy will be certified in 2024, the funds it generates won’t be applicable to the district’s budget until the 2025-26 school year. Kuehn said that’s because the school district’s fiscal year actually begins on July 1, which is also when the proposed budget for the coming school year is approved, and his office begins inputting data into the state’s levy information system, such as projected enrollment, long-term facilities maintenance plans, program offerings, and any voter or board-approved levies that the district is operating under.
“We don’t currently have any operating levies,” said Kuehn, though the district is still paying off some debt, including the bonds purchased through a $50 million bond levy referendum approved by local voters in 2018.
Other data used for determining their maximum levy amount, such as property valuations and tax classification rates, is provided by the county and state, Kuehn added. When finished, “it’s about a 40-page report,” he said.
“Our past practice is that we certify to the maximum amount that we are capable of getting,” Kuehn said, because while the final levy approved in December can be decreased from the preliminary levy that was certified in September, it cannot be increased, by state law.
The district has an annual budget in the $52 million range, Kuehn said, with about 60% of that going into the district’s general revenue fund, and the remaining 40% going to pay off debt.
Of the district’s general revenue, about 75% goes toward staff salaries and benefits, he said, with the remaining 25% going toward other operating expenses, like transportation, facilities improvements and maintenance, etc.
Roughly 20% of the district’s annual budget comes from the tax levy, he added, with the remainder coming primarily from state and federal aid. But when the levy increases, “that doesn’t mean that the district necessarily gets a lot more revenue,” Kuehn said.
This is because a levy increase may cause a corresponding decrease in state and federal aid. “Last year was a great example of that,” he said. “Our levy went up 7 or 8%, but the overall amount of revenue that we generated went down.”
