(Photo via Marathon Central Schools website).
The Marathon Central School District presented its proposed 2024-25 budget with no tax levy increase.
According to documents, Marathon CSD’s budget is projected at $21,916,840. It is $718,055 more than the adopted 2023-24 budget ($21,198,785).
Marathon’s proposed budget comes with a 0% tax levy increase. It’s the first time that the district hasn’t had an increase in the tax levy since the 2017-18 school year.
According to Marathon CSD superintendent Andy Buchsbaum, the district’s property tax cap was .54%. The difference, Buchsbaum added, would have been $23,632 if the district increased the tax levy by .54%.
“The board of education thought it would be prudent to not increase the tax levy in this case,” Buchsbaum said. “This year's budget represents a 0% tax levy, with no staff or program reductions.”
Buchsbaum announced via a newsletter to the community that the district lost $160,000 in state aid. Marathon CSD, however, made up for the loss in aid through “budgeting additional fund balance and reserves,” Buchsbaum said.
Aside from the proposed budget, the district has a proposition in place to purchase four diesel buses at a cost “not to exceed” $575,000.
“The district borrows money over a 5-year period to purchase new buses,” Buchsbaum said. “We also get state aid on the buses over the same 5-year period.”
The community can vote on the proposed budget, the diesel bus proposition and more on May 21 from noon to 8 p.m. in room 107 (CSE Office) at the Marathon CSD junior/senior high school.
A breakdown of the projected budget and propositions can be viewed here.
“With the challenges presented at the state level in regards to state aid, we feel that we have built a financial plan that will continue to grow opportunities for our students, while also remaining fiscally responsible to our community,” Buchsbaum said. “We appreciate the support the community has always shown to our school district.”
