WFCN –
The budget for the Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District predicts that things will go rather smoothly the following academic year and that property tax revenue will keep increasing.
The 2024–25 budget, which anticipates a 5.5% increase in secured property tax income, was unanimously approved by the MVLA school board last month. This provides around three-quarters of the district’s overall revenue, making it the primary source of support.
Associate Superintendent of Business Services Mike Mathiesen told the Voice, “It’s pretty consistent with what we’ve seen in prior years.” “The main source of our income is the continuous increase in secured property taxes. Our operating expenses have not increased in proportion to that growth.
More current information from the Santa Clara County assessor’s office since the MVLA budget was first created indicates that secured property tax revenue may actually be greater than anticipated, possibly approaching 6.5%, according to Mathiesen. In August, the district will meet with the county to discuss the situation, and he emphasized that this is only preliminary data.
The district’s estimate from the previous year, which was nearly accurate, was a 7% rise in secured property tax revenue for 2023–2024. As stated by Mathiesen, the real increase was 6.93%.
Examining the financial estimates in depth
Estimated revenue and expenses for 2024–25 are $141.9 million and $142.3 million, respectively. The district’s use of one-time state and federal COVID-19 relief money is mostly to blame for the small deficit. Nearly all of the remaining funds are anticipated to be used up in 2024–2025, as a large portion of them have already been allocated, according to Mathiesen.
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MVLA’s staff costs will account for the majority of its budget, as is customary. Salary and benefits will account for 83% of the district’s overall spending.
Since hikes through the 2023–24 school year were the only thing included in the most recent union agreements, the budget does not account for any wage increases in 2024–25. Mathiesen says that talks on a new deal for unions will start in August or September.
According to Mathiesen, the budget is based on an estimate of the number of pupils the district has observed registering for the fall, which translates into an increase of about 100 students for the next academic year.
The district has commissioned a new demographic analysis, and until it is presented, enrollment is expected to remain flat for the next two years. According to Mathiesen, preliminary data indicates that until more housing is built, enrolment will either remain unchanged or significantly decrease.
The Shoreline Community Educational Enhancement Reserve will contribute about $3.6 million to the budget for 2024–2025. That is the income from property taxes collected by a special tax district located in Mountain View’s northern region.
As the custodian of the tax district’s assets, the city has consented to distribute a portion of its proceeds to Mountain View Whisman and MVLA for almost two decades. There is currently disagreement between Mountain View Whisman and the city over a potential future agreement, as the most recent one ended this summer.
But the three-year extension that the city proposed was previously approved by MVLA. The City Council instructed staff to sign a two-party contract with MVLA last month in case Mountain View Whisman refused to sign the three-year extension.