Tax rate increase passes

By LISA SIMPSON STRANGE
Glasgow Daily Times

GLASGOW September 30, 2008 11:43 am

— Glasgow Independent Schools will receive an increase in revenue for the 2009 fiscal year.
Members of the Glasgow Board of Education voted in favor of a 4 percent general fund tax increase at a special called meeting at the central office Monday night. The board took the designated amount allowed by the state that is not subject to voter recall.
The general fund tax levied in fiscal year 2008 was 68.0 cents per $100 of assessed value on real property and 68.0 cents per $100 of assessed value on personal property and produced revenue of $4,148,158.64.
The increase to 70.2 cents on both real and personal property is expected to produce $4,461,820.09 for a projected increase of $313,661.45 in revenue. Of the total amount, $774,720 is expected to come from new and personal property.
The compensating tax for 2009 is 67.50 cents of real property and 68.0 cents on personal property and should generate $4,295,512.51.
Allocations for the additional $313,661.45 will include: cost of collections, $8,625.69; instruction, $45,035.76; fuel cost increases, $10,000; building fund, $100,000; and maintenance of facilities, $150,000.
The board voted 4-1 in favor of the increase and also to adopt the current tax rate of 55.4 cents for motor vehicles for the 2008-09 school year. Board members Jerry L. Ream, Chris Lawrence, Elaine Richardson and Bill Sadler voted for the measure and board member LaDonna Rogers voted against.
Rogers also opposed the increase at the first reading of the proposed tax levy at a board meeting on Aug. 21. She said she still felt the same way. “I think we need the money, but I think in these hard economic times it’s hard to ask people for more money.”
At a public hearing before the board meeting, Ernest Simmons, 77, spoke in opposition of the increase. He said many people, especially the elderly on fixed incomes, already have to make hard choices about how to spend their limited resources on food, medicine and housing and the tax increase will just add an additional burden. Simmons asked the board if they had tried to find ways to save money from the budget. He requested the amount of per student expenditure for Glasgow schools, which finance officer Sue Furlong reported as $9,062. The state average is $9,600 per student according to board members.
Ream also explained that even though members could draw salaries up to $3,000 per year, they don’t do so or claim expenses other than registration fees for state meetings. He said when the board was given the opportunity to take an additional 3 percent utility tax in the early ’90s, they chose not to do so. Glasgow is one of only 17 school districts in the state that did not take the utility tax increase.
Richardson added that for a homeowner with property assessed at $100,000 the increase would mean an additional $22 in taxes.
When asked about the decision to take the additional tax increase, Superintendent Kathy Goff said it was to offset anticipated increases in costs and for the building program — with the high school being the No.1 priority.