Sioux Falls School Board bumps up property tax opt-out by $2.1 million per year

Decision taken to avoid deeper budget cuts and, unless referred by voters, increases the total property taxes raised for the next 10 years

Students get off the bus at Laura Wilder Elementary in this undated photo from the Sioux Falls School District. Sioux Falls School District

The Sioux Falls School Board approved another round of opt-out funding this week to help avoid deep cuts in the district’s budget.

The funding mechanism, used by many local school and county boards across the state, is a “critical component” of the local school budget accounting for about 5 percent of revenue.

Without it, for example, the district would have had to cut about $15 million out of this coming school’s year’s budget instead of the $3 million that was approved, according to Business Manager Todd Vik.

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