The River Falls School District unveiled a 5.44% increase to total tax levy at the Sept. 28 annual board budget hearing. The mill rate would decrease, keeping the district below the state average.

The 2025-26 numbers for comparison are listed as unaudited because the district’s annual audit results will not be available until later in the year. The listed numbers for funding variables including enrollment, state aid and property values were also estimated at the time of the meeting, as some of that information is not finalized until mid-October.

There will be an increase of about $2.2 million in revenue from local taxes. State aid is estimated to decrease by about $400,000.

According to Finance and Facilities Director Lynette Coy, those reasons include the 2025-27 state biennium budget allowing for a statewide per pupil increase but did not increase the state aid pool. That meant if districts wanted to pursue that increase, they would need to do so through tax levy. The district is also in the third year of the operating referendum, making up another portion of the increase.

Special education funding stems from two sources, general fund transfers and state reimbursement.

“It was estimated when that [state] budget passed, that last year’s reimbursement on expenses would be at 42%, when in reality, they ended up being just over 38%. This year, the state legislature’s estimate is 45%; however, we’re budgeting at 40%,” Coy said.

Referendum required debt payments are down, with the total debt upon conclusion of the fiscal year expected to come in around $57.8 million.

The district proposed a 5.44% levy increase to $28.7 million. The increase is down from a 5.7% increase a year ago. The mill rate would decrease from 6.89 to 6.84. That mill rate would be the second lowest the school has recorded since 2015-16 and would keep the district below the state average of 7.18.

Superintendent David Bell also made his State of the District address at the meeting.

“Our theme for the start of the year has been honoring tradition, cultivating opportunities and chasing excellence,” Bell said. “Sometimes we’re so focused on the trends, and issues and concerns of the moment, we lose sight of the challenges our predecessors faced.”

Bell spoke about the history of the district, including the first secondary school being built in 1887, setting up a series of one-room schoolhouses for elementary schooling. In 1927, a new high school was built because of a fire. In 1955, Greenwood Elementary was built, followed by Westside Elementary decades later and Rocky Branch decades after that in the 1990s.

“In 1960, our district worked to consolidate the rural schools into one unifying K-12 district. In 1961, and then again in 2001, new high schools were built,” Bell said.

During the 2000s, the Montessori and Renaissance Charter Academies were added into the district.

“The reality is that we will hold the role of board member, superintendent, principal, teacher and support staff for a small amount of time in relation to the existence of the district. Our work today would not be possible without the work of our predecessors, who were thoughtful in the purchase of land, creation of school programming and partnerships with the city, townships and universities,” Bell said. “We now hold that responsibility of honoring this tradition and giving our successors the opportunity to continue to build and grow our wonderful school district.”

The focus of the back half of Bell’s address was that it is the district representatives’ jobs to keep the school moving forward, even in the areas of which they are already proud. River Falls was designated as exceeding expectations in the 2024-25 district report card, putting the district in the 82nd percentile statewide. ACT scores also grew significantly from what they were at the time of the practice exam.

“While there’s much to celebrate, we also have to address current challenges. Like many Wisconsin districts, we must navigate our realities to protect student achievement while maintaining long-term fiscal stability,” Bell said.

Challenges the district faces include statewide and local declining enrollment. The district’s enrollment has experienced three consecutive years of decrease to enrollment and are tracking for a fourth.

“Incoming 4K and K classes are smaller than our graduating classes plus any net increases we get when families move into the district at other time periods. There are fewer adults of child-rearing age, and these adults are having fewer kids. Residents in River Falls are trending older, and housing availability for families is limited. We’re facing tougher competition through open enrollment, both face to face and virtual, and families who are choosing home school,” Bell said. “Over time, these changes will result in changes to our certified staffing levels. We’re not going to react hastily. We have board policies regarding class size guidelines and board priorities that will help us make these decisions. In addition, we’ll study open enrollment and homeschool trends to determine if programming opportunities exist that align to our values and goals.”

Bell said the approval of the 2024 Operating Referendum has prevented significant adjustments to staffing and programming.

“The district is sensitive to the reality that an additional referendum is not in our current plans,” Bell said.

The district’s strategic plan wraps up this year, which is now a focus of the district. They are going to be offering multiple ways for the community to provide input on the next plan and putting together a committee to evaluate goals that will be made up of a variety of community members.