Property owners to see tax break for year

By

News

July 16, 2014 - 12:00 AM

Property owners in USD 257 may see a tax break for the 2014-15 school year.
Board of Education members set an Aug. 11 budget hearing to consider a spending plan that shaves about 8 mills from the district’s ad valorem tax levy.
The lower levy was possible because of court-mandated legislation that increased the state’s contribution for Local Options Budget reimbursements.
The legislation stemmed from the Kansas Supreme Court’s order to provide more equitable education funding, Superintendent of Schools Jack Koehn explained.
“Before this year, the state wasn’t picking up its share of the LOB equalization aid,” Koehn told the Register. “It was only paying about 78 percent of it. This year, it’s paying 100 percent.”
As a result, USD 257 can generate nearly $3.2 million for its LOB — which can be used for general operating expenses — with a levy of about 16 mills. Last year’s budget required a levy of 26 mills.
Meanwhile, the district will increase its capital outlay levy from 6 mills to 8 mills, while maintaining a 20-mill levy for its general operating fund, meaning property owners will pay about 44 mills to support the district, down from 52 mills last year.
A mill is a tenth of a cent and generates $1 for every $1,000 in a property’s assessed valuation.
For perspective, the owner of a $100,000 home will spend $51 in property taxes, or $8 less than in 2013-14. The figure does not include taxes for muncipalities, the county or Allen Community College.

THE DISTRICT is one step closer to asking local voters to decide on building a new elementary and high school.
Board members unanimously approved a motion to pursue a joint resolution with the City of Iola for a pair of tax issues to be decided in November.
Approval would hinge on taxpayers supporting a general obligation bond issue for the district and a half-cent city sales tax. Koehn told Iola City Council members in June that if both measures passed this year, more than half of the $49 million would come state aid. Locally, taxpayers would pay about 9 mills, with supplemental funding coming from sales tax revenues.
Koehn, Scott Stanley, district operations manager, and Kirk Horner, Hollis and Miller Architects consultant, reviewed six construction manager at-risk proposals for the project. The three men narrowed the companies down to three. Board members agreed to interview Nabholz Construction, Olathe, Universal Construction, Lenexa, and Hutton Construction, Wichita, in August.
Several routine matters affecting board reorganization were approved because July 1 marked the official start of the 2014-15 school year. Leavitt will remain as board president and Don Snavely  as vice president.

In other news
— Warren Johnson was hired as Jefferson technology paraprofessional
— Donna Carpenter was hired as a Lincoln technology paraprofessional.
— Lori Schulenberg was hired as point of sale at Iola High School.
— The classified salary schedule and administrators’ salaries were accepted.
— School lunches will be $2.65 for the new school year due to USDA requirements.
— The board will still meet at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Monday’s of the month at the district office.

Related
March 29, 2016
November 7, 2014
July 29, 2014
August 19, 2013