VCPS Superintendent Johnson shares information and updates regarding Mill Levy and Building Fund
Courtesy of VCPS
The following information was shared by VCPS Superintendent Josh Johnson March 7th:
To All of the Taxpayers and Constituents of the Valley City
Public School District,
This communication is intended to provide you with a brief update regarding our school district's building fund and the error in over levying tax dollars in our school district. For your reference, I've included the email (below) and the letter (attached) that was sent on 01-19-2023 and also reported by our local media sources.
Our intent as a school district, in full transparency with our taxpayers, was to increase the building fund to address our growing school facility needs. Our district was under the belief, following advisement and approval from others, that we had the authority to levy above 10 mills. That in fact was incorrect. The school district recognized this error in December and immediately reported it to our County Auditor to begin creating a plan to remedy this with our taxpayers.
The school board did approve a correction plan on 01-18-2023 that would decrease the building fund levy over the next two years and reimburse an estimated $620,000 to the taxpayers of our school district. Since then, the Barnes County Auditor, Beth Didier, has contacted the North Dakota Tax Commissioner's Office for an official recommendation for the school district and county.
Our school district will continue to follow the recommendations from the County Auditor (and/or Tax Commissioner's Office). We are committed to correcting this error with the building fund and will take the necessary steps to ensure that this doesn't happen in the future.
As an example, for our taxpayers with property in the school district, I've provided an estimated dollar amount that a taxpayer with a property value of $100,000, in 2022, has overpaid in taxes for the past four years (2019-2023). The estimated amount is $65.00.
If you have any questions regarding this communication, please contact me via email, phone, or schedule a face-to-face visit.
You can reach me and/or our school business manager, Jackie Cordie, at 701.845.0483.
Josh Johnson, Superintendent
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Email and the text from attachment sent out, via email on January 19th… To the Taxpayers and Constituents of Valley City Public Schools,
The letter attached is regarding upcoming levy modifications in our Building Fund. After you have a chance to read the letter, if you would like more information, have questions, or would simply like to provide a comment, I am happy to visit with you. We will continue to provide full transparency regarding the Building Fund to the stakeholders of our school district.
While we have significant school facility needs in our district, we will follow the North Dakota Century Code and all laws governing our school district. We will continue to explore all possible sources of funding to address our facility needs. Please know that more information regarding our facilities will be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks.
Josh Johnson, Superintendent
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Valley City Public Schools January 19, 2023 Taxpayers and Constituents of Valley City Public Schools,
In December, as we were considering funding options for our proposed school facility projects, our financial partner requested verification from Barnes County authorizing VCPS to levy up to 20 mills in the Building Fund. Upon receiving the request, we immediately contacted Barnes County Auditor, Beth Didier, for a copy of the proper documentation showing our authorization to levy 20 mills.
On January 09, 2023, we met with the Barnes County Auditor and were informed we do not have the authority in the Build Fund to levy above 10 mills. North Dakota Century Code (the law that governs school districts) states school districts may levy up to 20 mills in the Building Fund; however, it must be voted in by the citizens of the school district. Unfortunately, due to part of the Century Code verbiage being misinterpreted, in 2019 it was communicated to us we had the consent to levy above 10 mills.
The following table illustrates the number of over levied mills and correlating dollar amounts: School Year, # of Mills Above 10,
Dollar Amount 2019-2020, 1.58, $61,378.75 2020-2021, 1.04, $42,404.16 2021-2022, 2.09, $87,473.49 2022-2023, 9.74, $428,725.84 2019-2023 (4 years), 14.45, $619,982.24
In full transparency with the taxpayers and constituents of the Valley City Public School District and in commitment to remedy the error, Valley City Public Schools will repay for over levying in the Building Fund. Our school district will be decreasing the number of mills we levy in our
Building Fund during the 2023-2024 and 20242025 school years to repay the $620,000. Below, is the total number of Building Fund mills that will be assessed to taxpayers over the next two school years; this includes the dollar amount that will be received by the school district in 2024 and 2025 – these dollar amounts are subject to change based on the tax assessed value.
School Year, # of Mills (Building Fund), Dollar Amount 2023-2024, 0, $0.00 2024-2025, 5.91, $260,140.63
Valley City Public School Board and Administration has been and will continue to be transparent with our patrons working to build trust and the support needed to make necessary student-focused decisions. We are open to visit with you, the taxpayers of our school district, to discuss your questions and listen to concerns. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at 701.845.0483 or the below mentioned e-mails.
Mr. Ryan Mathias, President ryan.mathias@k12.nd.us
Mr. Darin Anderson, Vice President darin.anderson@k12.nd.us
Mr. Josh Johnson, Superintendent josh.johnson@k12.nd.us
Mrs. Sherri Horsager, Director sherri.horsager@k12.nd.us
Mr. Phil Hatcher, Director phil.hatcher@k12.nd.us
Ms. Jackie Cordie, Business Manager jackie.cordie@k12.nd.us
Mr. Rudy Ask, Director rudy.ask@k12.nd.us