Tax rates fluctuate based on a number of factors. When the district requests additional taxpayer support in order to meet operating expenses or to make major improvements to facilities, taxpayers must approve this additional funding through a vote. However, tax levies are applied to property values, and when property values rise, the levies are often reduced so that the district’s funding (and the taxpayer’s tax bill) is not increased significantly.

In 2012, voters approved an increase in the district’s operating levy after property values (and therefore district operating funds) dropped significantly due to the Great Recession. As this chart illustrates, despite passing an $85.1 bond referendum in 2016 to renovate the high school, the district’s total tax rate (operating and debt service levies combined) is currently lower than it was when the operating levy was increased eight years ago.

It is anticipated that with the rise in property values in the next assessment cycle, the operating levy will once again be reduced.