Valuations, TIF and the Impact on School Finances

In light of the conversations around taxes and valuation spurred by the proposed bond here is some information of interest to CCA patrons. One area that CCA is a leader in the State is in the percentage of our valuation enrolled in TIF programs. My intent is not to argue for or against TIF, but to inform patrons regarding the impact it has on school revenues.

TIF removes valuations from the calculation of General Fund tax rate. The district is allocated revenue from the State based on a per pupil amount. The tax rate for the General Fund portion of the district budget is calculated on the valuation of $687,285,523.  Without TIF in our district the General Fund tax rate would be calculated on $1,108,765,102. In effect the TIF causes everyone else to pay a higher rate in order for the district to collect its General Fund dollars.

An important factor to know in relation to the bond is that TIF valuations are NOT exempt from the Debt Service Levy, which is used to pay off bond issues. So, the Debt Service rate of $4.036, as of FY17, is applied to the total valuation in the district.

CCA's valuations for FY 17, the 2016-2017 school year, are listed in the chart below. Under "Levy Authority" you can see the valuations for the historic Amana and Clear Creek district, followed by the combined totals for CCA.

 CCA Valuation by Historical District and Overall

Residential valuations make up the largest portion of valuations in the CCA district at 42.05%, followed by Commercial valuations at 41.79%. 

Percentage of Overall Valuation Represented by each Category

CCA lives with one of the highest TIF percentages in the State, with 38.01% of our total valuation being in TIF. Note that 72.81% of Commercial valuation and 73.58% of Industrial valuation are currently in TIF. If the TIF valuations were calculated into the CCA General Fund levy rate patrons would see a drop of approximately $1.95 in the rate.  

Percentage of each Category in TIF

There is a considerable amount of Commercial and Residential development planned in the CCA district over the coming years. The growth in valuation will allow the district to control our overall tax rate and generate the bonding capacity needed to meet the instructional needs of our growing student population. Local municipalities have to make challenging decisions regarding how to utilize TIF in those developing areas. If you have further questions about CCA valuations and the impact of TIF on the district tax rate and budget, please contact Tim Kuehl, Superintendent: timkuehl@ccaschools.org, 319-818-4510.

Early Voting/Polling Sites and Bond Facts

Good morning CCA Community. Today marks the first day of early voting for both the bond referendum and for the open board of directors positions for CCA. Note that the precincts are different for early voting.

What if the bond fails?

A question that has come up several times is, "What happens if the bond fails?" In the event the bond fails the district will need to take other measures in order to alleviate the over crowding at North Bend Elementary and Tiffin Elementary. At this point there is not a hard plan with Board of Education approval to deal with that possible reality. One of two scenarios to deal with the over crowding seem likely:

1. Beginning in 18-19 students could be bussed from North Bend Elementary to Clear Creek Elementary or Amana Elementary. Students would need to be bussed from Tiffin Elementary beginning in the 19-20 school year. It's likely that fifth grade students would be transported first, with fourth graders being added as dictated by available space at North Bend Elementary and Tiffin Elementary.

2. Another option would be to reconfigure the elementary attendance boundaries. In order to alleviate the overcrowding at North Bend and Tiffin Elementary Schools the Clear Creek Elementary boundary would need to be moved east, to include more students from Tiffin. At this time I do not know exactly where the boundary would have to be in order to move enough students to Clear Creek Elementary. The Tiffin Elementary Boundary would then need to be adjusted to bring in students from the current North Bend Elementary attendance area. That could mean bringing students from the northern part of North Liberty to Tiffin Elementary. Again, we would need to closely analyze the student numbers to ensure moving enough students to balance the attendance at North Bend and Tiffin Elementary Schools.

Neither of these options are ideal, and neither deals with the long term challenges of enrollment growth. These options also create increased expenditures from the general fund, especially option 1, with the increased bussing.

It's also important to keep in mind that if we utilize every classroom in Clear Creek and Amana Elementary Schools our elementary enrollment will still surpass capacity in the 2021-2022 school year. So, the district will be forced to add more classroom space by that time. Another consideration is that construction costs inflate at approximately 3% each year. So, the $36 million  of improvements proposed on the current bond would cost $38,192,400 in two years.

The increased student enrollment is coming to CCA. Without the facilities provided by the proposed bond one of these options will need to be utilized in the short term. The district will absolutely need to add increased classroom space by 2021-2022 for elementary students and the high school will surpass its capacity of 900 students in 2022-2023.

Sincerely,

Tim Kuehl, CCA Superintendent

2017 Bond Information Presentation

This link will take you to the presentation shared at community meetings.

Presentation