West Greene raises tax rate for first time in 14 years
West Greene School Board passed its first property tax increase in 14 years Thursday night.
The board voted 5-1 during its monthly agenda meeting to raise the property tax rate .46 mills to fund the district’s $16.896 million operating budget for next school year.
School directors Mike Pikula, Kelly Loughman, Chad Scott, Butch Cassidy and Tim Mankey voted in favor of the budget while board member Jan Berdine cast the lone dissenting vote. Rob Gilbert, Ronald Lynn Wise and Daniele Frye did not attend the meeting.
The millage increase will put the district’s tax rate at 19.96 mills and raise about $236,000 in additional revenue. A homeowner with a property assessed at $50,000 will pay $23 more in school taxes next year.
The school board last raised taxes in 2002.
District business manager Jessica Bissett said the tax increase was needed because of increases in salary and benefits, which account for more than 65 percent of the budget. Salaries will be about $6.6 million and employee benefits will be about $4.4 million.
The budget also puts $110,000 into the district’s capital projects fund for building improvements, which is currently about $600,000. Bissett said the district is not pulling any money from its $3 million capital reserve account.
The 2016-17 budget is a 1.2 percent increase in spending over last year’s budget. The district asked administrators to make across-the-board cuts and withhold certain purchases, such as athletic uniforms, to counter the increases in salaries and spending.
Also during the meeting, the school board honored Superintendent Thelma Szarell, who has spent more than four decades working in the district, including the last 12 years as the top administrator. Szarell, who did not attend Thursday night’s meeting, is leaving at the end of the month and will be replaced by California Area Superintendent Brian Jackson, who previously worked in a variety of roles in West Greene School District.
The board also approved a three-year contract with Jim Elsenheimer as food services director with a base salary of $49,777, beginning July 1.