School district adopts budget at special meeting

LAUREL – The Laurel-Concord-Coleridge School adopted its budget and set its tax asking at a special board meeting Sept. 24.

No one from the public attended the public hearing for the budget or tax asking. In total, the hearings and adoption of the budget took about 30 minutes.

The school board approved the district’s $9.3-million budget which includes its general fund, bond fund, special building fund and a new fund for this year - Qualified Capital Purpose Undertaking Fund (QCPUF).

The QCPUF sets aside $176,000 for a mold abatement project.

Property valuations for the district grew by 13 percent which includes property from Cedar, Dixon and Wayne counties.

The board set the tax levy at slightly more than 74 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, which is lower than last year’s levy.

The special meeting came after months of preparation and discussion.

Jeremy Christiansen, LCC superintendent, and Carol Erwin, board president, also presented budget information at a Truth in Taxation public hearing after the budget came in slightly above allowable growth set by law.