Property taxes will decrease by about 10 percent this year for people living in the St. Joseph School District.
Tuesday marked the deadline to place a school tax levy on the August ballot. August is the latest a tax could be approved and still be included on fall tax bills, according to Buchanan County Clerk Pat Conway and the school district.
The April vote against the permanent renewal of the 63-cent school levy has now, in effect, become a vote to cut school taxes.
School district administration and board members have not publicly discussed any plan to put a tax proposal back on the ballot, and they allowed Tuesday’s deadline to pass quietly. The school district could seek a levy increase in November, February or April, but those would not show up on tax bills until next year.
A citizens group, Coalition for Progress, has been meeting to chart a tax strategy. The group decided earlier this month that August would be too soon to place another tax initiative in front of voters. No decision on a new initiative had been made by Tuesday, said Sharon Kosek, a group leader.
“We’re waiting to hear from the citizens group,” said Steve Huff, spokesman for the school district. “... They have essentially said that they are going to assume the mantle of leadership and take this on. Their thinking was that the chances of success would be enhanced by letting a citizens group take this on.”
The school district’s total tax levy is $3.98 per $100 of assessed valuation. The loss of the 63-cent levy is equal to about 16 percent of the tax levy — about $5.9 million per year, according to Janet Pullen, the district’s chief financial officer.
The district’s proposed budget for next year would cut about $3 million from operations and use about $4 million from reserves to make up for the shortfall. The district plans to cut 119 total positions — the equivalent of 98 full-time jobs. The cuts include 37 certified positions (teachers, counselors, etc.) and 82 non-certified positions.
Joe Blumberg can be reached at joeblumberg@npgco.com.