Highlands School District residents likely will pay the same in real estate taxes next school year after the board approved its $51.9 million budget.

The plan maintains a tax rate of 25.13 mills.

If approved, the owner of a home assessed at $100,000 again will pay $2,513.

The total budget is an increase of about $1.3 million, or 2.5%, over this school year.

The board is expected to vote on a final budget June 19.

“I’m happy we were able to hold the line on taxes for the year,” board member Gene Witt said. “When I (first was elected), one of my major issues was that we needed to run the district like a business, because we are in the business of educating children, and we were in a poor fiscal position.”

Superintendent Monique Mawhinny was unavailable for comment. No other school board members responded to requests for comment.

Earlier this week, the district’s financial rating was elevated by Moody’s after about five years.

“This is the result of the administration’s initiatives like zero-base budgeting and aggressive grant seeking, along with the board’s commitment to thoughtful fiscal policy,” Witt said. “I believe this strong financial position is necessary for the district to thrive in the future and opens up more options in the coming years I’m glad we are on the right track.”

According to the preliminary budget approved May 15, highlights of the plan include $11.5 million in salaries, $7.5 million in employee benefits and an unassigned fund balance projected to be $4 million.

“Unfortunately, health insurance, which had only seen modest increases for a few years, is projected to skyrocket next year,” Witt said.

Despite those challenges, the overall budget shows only a modest increase of 2.6% year over year, he said.

“Overall, the budget reflects good news for the district and the taxpayers, not just for next (school) year, but well into the future,” Witt said.

Building improvements

Residents can expect to see capital improvements across all district campuses.

Earlier this year, the board approved $25 million in renovations that include reconstruction of the high school pool for about $1.8 million.

Other projects include operational and safety features, such as lighting, boilers, roof replacement, air conditioning, parking and sidewalk replacements.

The contract went to ABM, a national group that operates under the state’s Guaranteed Energy Savings Act to provide fixed costs.

The district has about $1.5 million in federal pandemic-related Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding to help offset the cost. That is part of the federal American Rescue Plan Act, which provided $122.7 billion in supplemental funding to districts across the country.

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