June 10, 2025
Thank you to all who voted in the Richland #44 School Board election on June 10, 2025.
The vote requesting to increase mill levy authority in our building fund from 10 to 20 mills passed by 64%.
Our school board currently has the authority to levy up to 10 mills per year for the Building Fund. We use this fund for general maintenance and annual projects (i.e. carpet replacement, painting, gym floor maintenance, and lighting updates).
However, the 10 mills is no longer enough to meet the needs of our facilities. We are pushing off projects in order to stay within budget.
The school board is requesting the authority to increase their levying authority in the Building Fund from 10 mills to 20 mills. Of the six school districts in Richland County, there are only two who do not have this authority (R44 and Wahpeton). Wyndmere, Hankinson, Fairmount and Lidgerwood school boards have the authority to levy up to 20 mills.
This vote is not for a bond and therefore is not looking to approve specific projects. Rather, this would allow the school board to levy up to an additional 10 mills per year if we have building needs.
To learn more about our facilities, click here to access our 2025 State of the Facilities presentation. You can also learn more on our State of the Facilities page.
Learn more about the mill levy vote at one of our upcoming community meetings hosted by the Richland #44 School Board.
Tuesday June 3 (6pm) - Christine Community Center
Tuesday June 3 (7:30pm) - Richland Jr/Sr HS
Wednesday June 4 (7pm) - Abercrombie Community Center
Understanding how the proposed 10-mill building levy increase will affect your property taxes is crucial. To assist you, we've developed this Tax Impact Calculator. By entering your property's True and Full Value, you can estimate the additional cost both annually and monthly if the levy is approved.
Use our calculator below to determine the amount of tax you will pay if the levy is increased to 20 mills.
You will need your property's True and Full Value as listed on your tax statement.
This is not a bond project so it is not meant for one specific large project. Rather, it will be used to help with ongoing maintenance and smaller projects that our budget cannot sustain now. Examples include:
Needed HVAC improvements
Condensation in classrooms
Space challenges
Safer entries
Parking lot improvements
Other general maintenance which the current 10 mills does not cover
No, per ND Century Code, "Building fund mills must be used for building and facility needs of the school district." The school district does not own The 44 Venue (it is owned by the Foundation) and therefore cannot use school district dollars on the facility.
Visit our Election Page to learn more about the school board election.
