M-W’s 2025-26 school budget would mean 1.5 percent tax increase

The Monroe Woodbury School District’s 2025-26 would mean a 1.5 percent tax increase for residents, well below the state tax cap of 3.55 percent, District Superintendent Dr. Tracy Norman said at the April 9 school board of Education meeting.

The increase is lower than the prior year’s tax levy of 1.7 percent, Norman reported.

Norman said the budget’s priorities were on safety, maintaining programs and ensuring students meet state standards. The proposed budget is $236.7 million, amounting to a 5.9 percent increase over the prior year’s budget.

State and other aid accounts for about $95 million of that budget, Norman reported, an increase from the prior year’s state contribution of about $88.8 million.

Referendum on capital projects

Along with the proposed budget, residents on May 20 will have the opportunity to vote on the district’s 2025 capital project.

Reiterating what he discussed at the prior board of education meeting, Patrick Cahill, Assistant Superintendent for Business and Management Services, said that the district is seeking approval to spend $16.6 million on additional capital projects to complement its existing $98 million project.

The $16.6 million includes adding central air conditioning to Pine Tree, North Main and Central Valley elementary schools, as part of renovation work already being done to upgrade those school’s heating systems. Cahill said with the heating work already budgeted for, adding air conditioning at the same time was a cost-effective investment.

Cahill said the $16.6 million also covers electrical upgrades to the middle school and other district buildings, which will enable the district to install heavier, more effective window units in the classrooms.

Providing working cooling systems for the schools is imperative, Cahill explained, as, effective Sept. 1, the state is implementing a heat index law, where persons will not be permitted to occupy a space that exceeds 88 degrees.

“Our principals have done a great job of identifying areas cooling areas when the temperature reaches that,” Norman said, “and we’re confident by September one that that we’ll have a plan in place that we can meet this heat index.”

Norman said the district would be open to holding a Q&A session, like the one which occurred in the prior year, if the public was interested. He encouraged community members to reach out to school principals and other district leaders to learn more.

During the meeting, student representative Dylan Escobar shared insights from his visits to Pine Tree and Central Valley, and recommended classrooms add a box where students can anonymously share their concerns with the teachers, as he learned many are nervous about telling on other students.

Escobar also said most of the students he surveyed said that the feel safe at school, which he felt spoke to the effectiveness of both security and the teachers in creating such an environment.