NEW ULM — The New Ulm Public School board approved setting the payable 2026 levy at the maximum Thursday.

District 88 Business Manager Mathew Moline said it is always recommended to set the preliminary levy certification at the maximum levy. This recommendation comes from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) because the total needed levy amount is changing daily.

“This report might look differently tomorrow,” Moline said.

By approving a maximum levy, the board has flexibility in adjustments before the final levy approval during the truth-in-taxation public meeting held during the final school board meeting of the year.

Moline said as the report currently stands, the school district is looking at a levy decrease based on current figures. Last year’s levy was $8.99 million, but the current estimate has the levy at $8.93 million, a reduction of nearly $70,000. This is a 0.78% reduction in the levy.

This decrease comes even with the board approving bonding for the Washington Learning Center (WLC) roof in July. The board approved a five-year bond repayment. This year the debt service on the bond is $144,000.

“It’s not every day we see that,” Moline said.

The levy formula is driven in part by student count, but is also impacted by the legislature making additional adjustments base on demographics. The result is New Ulm is receive more funding from the state, bringing the local levy down.

Moline said the actual dollar amount could still change before the end of the year. He said this is why the board sets a maximum levy amount instead setting a specific dollar amount. By statute, once a preliminary levy is set, it cannot increase. To avoid locking the district into a specific number the board set a maximum levy.

Moline said it was possible the current levy estimate could change widely before board sets the final levy in December, but he said based on previous years, he did not expect any major changes.