 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
School budget contains tax hike
By BARBARA BEHRENDT
© St. Petersburg Times, INVERNESS -- Citrus property owners will have to dig a little deeper to help support the public schools if School Board members approve the tax rate that their staff proposed Thursday. School officials, who blame state lawmakers for tossing more responsibility for funding on local taxpayers, are proposing a tax rate increase of 2.4 percent to help fund the $151-million spending plan. The board tentatively accepted the tax rate and budget so the proposal can be advertised. Public hearings are slated for July 31 and Sept. 11, with final approval expected at the end of second hearing. The proposed tax rate is 8.78 mills, compared with last year's rate of 8.571 mills. A mill is equal to $1 in tax for every $1,000 in appraised taxable property value. The owner of a $75,000 home who takes the standard $25,000 homestead exemption would pay $439 to support the schools. Last year, the tax bill for that same home was $428.55. Property owners also pay additional taxes for county services and other services. People who own property in Crystal River or Inverness pay an additional city tax. Overall, the tentative budget includes $48.6-million raised from local taxes, $4-million more than last year. Finance director Sam Hurst has told board members that, while the amount the district receives per student in state dollars has declined slightly, the tax rate the state requires school districts to levy would have to go up. That is just one part of the bad budget news. Pay raises that some employees receive for increased experience are built into the spending plan, but additional pay raises are not. Officials have said they will scour the budget and trim expenses to find money for such raises. While they might see little or no increase in their pay schedule, many teachers will receive one-time, state-approved bonuses of $850. School officials also have set aside $400,000 to hire additional staff to meet the needs of the district's growing schools. Overall, the school system expects to spend $1.9-million more than it will collect in revenue. That has been true in past budgets, as well, and board members Thursday continued to question the practice. The budget is tight this year in part because the state has attached strings to more of its funding, removing school systems' flexibility to decide how many dollars would go toward certain programs and how many would be available for pay increases. Adding to the problem: Finance officials recently learned that state dollars to school districts might be reduced because the state's education allocation has already been expended. In other activity, the board approved Janet Mulligan as the new assistant principal for Crystal River High School. She replaces Tony Whitehead, who became assistant principal at Lecanto High School.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
Citrus Times |
