After whittling down reserve funds to one year’s worth of expenses, Powell Valley Community Education is receiving a $20,000 addition to its mill amount for the 2023 fiscal year due to an increase in property and energy valuations.

For the 2023 fiscal year, documents provided by Programs Specialist Leslie Bigham showed that PVCE received $128,000 from mill levies. Bigham was present at Park County School District 1’s June school board meeting to break down PVCE funding ahead of the school district’s budget approval in July. At the June meeting, Park County School District 1’s Business Service Coordinator Mary Jo Lewis informed Bigham that PVCE received an extra $20,000 due to high valuations.

The proposed 2024 budget listed the value of a one-half mill as $161,914 and a three-eighths mill value of $121,435, although Bigham noted that she had not heard exact numbers from the assessor and these were only draft amounts.

Lewis said if a one-half mill is allocated to PVCE Board of Cooperative Educational Services, it will be receiving $155,454 under the new assessed valuation.

PVCE BOCES is a collaborative effort between Powell’s school district and Northwest College.

“BOCES used to have a lot of extra money, $250,000 in reserves, [we] decided to have a year's worth of expenses in reserves,” said Mark Wurzel, NWC chair and a BOCES board member, in May. 

Wurzel said that a majority of reserve funding has gone to “making it cheaper for drivers ed.”

BOCES is funded by mill levies (a tax based on property value) collected by the school district that chooses to award either one-half a mill or three-eighths of a mill which it “funnels down to BOCES,” Bigham said.

“We're the ones who put the levy on the taxpayers to help fund this,” said Trace Paul, vice chairman for Powell school board. “It's truly Park County School District 1’s BOCES. And it's set up as a joint venture.”

During Bigham’s appearance at the June 27 school board meeting she explained that BOCES is used around the state by school districts for different purposes — in Powell it was decided that the board would be used for continuing education and community education.

BOCES receives its mill levy from the school district each year. After the board receives its mill allocation it is then used to pay for PVCE programs, materials and for the program being at the college, as well as special project funds for things such as career technical education for high school students, dual enrollment and drivers education scholarships.

Each year, to house PVCE as well as finance programs like community classes and drivers education, Northwest College receives a $100,000 contract. Bigham said out of that money the college receives $7,999 to house PVCE. The remaining $92,000 is used to fund things like supplies, other materials, contract pay and employee salary and benefits. Any money left over from this contract amount is put into a carry over fund that can be used by PVCE if needed.

Currently PCSD1 board members Riley, Morris and Lillian Brazelton serve on the PVCE board and they update their fellow school board members at the monthly workshop meeting. These school board members serve on the PVCE board alongside Northwest College board members Mark Wurzel and Denise Laursen.

The school district's budget hearing is set for July 19 at 6 p.m. at which point allocation of mill levies will also be approved.

— Zac Taylor contributed reporting