The Austin Public School Board unanimously approved the district’s 2012 property tax levy for $7,018,789 Monday at its truth in taxation meeting.

That is $1,099,932 more than last year’s levy because of several factors, including the passing of the new bond referendum, which includes the estimated fiscal year 2013 bond payments. District officials mentioned that if the voter-approved referendum had not passed, residents’ property taxes would have gone down. For example, last year’s typical $150,000 home payed roughly $558 in property taxes. Now residents with that value of home will pay roughly $677 per year, opposed to $505 if the levy would have failed.

Mark Stotts, director of finance and operations for Austin Public Schools, pointed out that other factors have played into increased property taxes, including the expiration of the Market Value Credit, which hit Mower County particularly hard because of property types.

“Mower County got hit harder than most areas in the state,” Stotts said.

Austin Public Schools was receiving $314 fewer in state funding per pupil than in the 2004-2005 school year, until there was a $50 increase for this and next fiscal year. While the levy has increased, it is still less than 2001, before the enactment of property tax reforms.

Stotts said Austin Public Schools is efficient with spending its money. While the state recommends 70 percent of funds go toward a district’s classrooms, Austin Public Schools is putting nearly 77 percent into its classrooms.

“I think we do a really, really good job of that,” Stotts said.

The district took in about $49.2 million in revenue from June 2010 to June 2011 — a school district’s fiscal year — according to finance officials from Larson Allen. Austin spent about $47.8 million during that same period, saving about $1.4 million in the process. That means the district’s overall fund balance grew from about $6.4 million in 2010 to about $7.8 million in 2011. Of that, the unassigned fund balance is about $7.1 million, about 15 percent of the district’s overall budget.