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The Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District’s budget forecasts relatively smooth sailing next school year, with property tax revenue expected to continue rising.
The MVLA school board unanimously approved the 2024-25 budget at a meeting last month, which projects a 5.5% increase in secured property tax revenue. That’s the district’s main funding source, accounting for roughly three-quarters of its total revenue.
“It’s pretty consistent with what we’ve seen in prior years,” Associate Superintendent of Business Services Mike Mathiesen told the Voice. “We continue to have growth in our secured property taxes, which is the major driver in our revenue. That growth is able to handle the increase in our operating expenditures.”
Since MVLA’s budget was initially crafted, more recent data from the Santa Clara County assessor’s office suggests that secured property tax revenue may actually come in higher than expected, potentially closer to 6.5%, Mathiesen said. He stressed that this is still early data and said the district will have a firmer estimate after meeting with the county in August.
Last year, the district projected a 7% increase in secured property tax revenue for 2023-24, which ended up being almost exactly correct. The actual increase was 6.93%, Mathiesen said.
Diving into the budget projections
The 2024-25 budget projects roughly $141.9 million in revenue and $142.3 million in expenditures. The slight deficit is largely attributable to the district spending down one-time state and federal COVID-19 relief funds. Much of this funding has already been spent in past years, and nearly all of the remainder is expected to be used up in 2024-25, Mathiesen said.
As is typical, the lion’s share of MVLA’s budget will go towards paying for staff. In total, 83% of the district’s expenses are set to go towards salary and benefits.
The budget doesn’t account for any salary increases in 2024-25, because the most recent union agreements only included raises through the 2023-24 school year. According to Mathiesen, union negotiations will begin again in August or September.
The budget assumes an increase of roughly 100 students next school year, which is estimated based on the number of students the district has seen enrolling for the fall, Mathiesen said.
Enrollment for the following two years is projected to be flat, which is a placeholder until the district presents an updated demographic study that it commissioned. Early results suggest enrollment will stay flat or decline slightly, unless more housing is produced, Mathiesen said.
On the revenue side, the 2024-25 budget includes roughly $3.6 million from the Shoreline Community Educational Enhancement Reserve. That’s property tax revenue from a special tax district in the northern part of Mountain View.
For nearly 20 years, the city – which acts as the stewards of the tax district’s funds – has agreed to share some of the money with MVLA and Mountain View Whisman. The most recent agreement expired this summer and Mountain View Whisman and the city are currently at odds over a future deal.
However, MVLA already agreed to a three-year extension the city put forward. Last month, the City Council directed staff to sign a two-party agreement with MVLA in the event Mountain View Whisman doesn’t agree to the three-year extension.
The thing to mention and not leave out is that the county assessor has already released the tax roll growth for 2024-2025. Yep, it was 5.5% or better. 7.7% in Mountain View, 5.5% in Los Altos. Appears to be WAY over 5.5%.