JM school boards approves tentative budget with maximum tax increase
JEFFERSON — Residents can expect to see higher-than-anticipated increases on their property taxes should a reworked 2014-15 tentative budget be adopted by the Jefferson-Morgan school board next month.
While the prior tentative budget passed in January had anticipated certain increases, the 4 percent increases in health insurance and retirement contributions, as well as increases in salaries, were far beyond what had been anticipated, said district Business Manager Jennifer Foringer, who called for a complete reworking of the budget last month.
The district learned last month it had received an exemption from the state Department of Education to increase taxes this year in excess of the inflationary index established by the Taxpayers Relief Act, allowing the district to increase property taxes by an additional $91,000.
On Monday, the board voted to increase the millage rate “to the maximum amount allowed” while exploring “creative ways” to ensure that necessary expenditures were met “without getting ourselves into bankruptcy,” said Cindy Jento, chair of the board’s budget and finance committee.
The $12,881.000 tentative budget for 2014-15 represents an increase of $717,397 from the current year’s budget, up from an increase of about $150,000 the year before.
By raising the millage by 1.39 to 25.63, the proposed increase on taxpayers with property assessed at $50,000 in the district amounts to an additional $69.50 annually, Jento said. At the current rate of 24.24 mills, those property taxes are about $1,212 annually.
“That’s what we’re asking,” said Jento, adding that the numbers will still “fall very far short of what we had hoped for.”
The need to raise property taxes comes from increasing rates and program expenditures while state funding remains flat, said Superintendent Donna Furnier.
“Without getting ourselves into bankruptcy, we are looking for creative ways” to rework the budget, Jento said.
“But with the numbers they originally gave us, we can’t make it. If we raise taxes the maximum we’re allowed, we can earmark $150,000 a year” toward necessary upgrades and construction costs, expected to range between $500,000 and $750,000.
“We absolutely have to have upgrades,” said Jento, adding that roof repairs are badly needed also while pointing out that the district is still carrying a debt from the previous school year.
“If we can carve out that much of a payment, we will send it to our financial planner. It’s just like buying a house: you tell them, ‘this is my payment, how much house can I afford?'”
The budget will receive final approval at the next board meeting, slated for June 23 to allow for the mandated 30-day public inspection period, Furnier said.
Jento, who was elected by the board to the position of treasurer Monday, waived a $600 stipend typically awarded to anyone holding the position.
Also at the meeting, board President Lisa Mattish announced the formation of a fifth board committee designed to review existing policy and make recommendations concerning emergency preparedness.
The need to form the Emergency Preparedness Committee is borne from a May 2 incident in which a note was found that ignited a bomb scare. The incident was taken seriously but “turned out to be nothing,” Furnier said. It did, however, highlight the need for evaluation regarding future preparedness, including periodic, ongoing walkthroughs involving the sheriff’s department.
Board member Jon Hildebrand expressed concerns with how the resulting evacuation was handled, saying that kids were running around declaring a bomb threat, while others referred to the incident as a learning experience and commended staff and faculty for helping to keep students calm while acknowledging that a lot of confusion came from social media.
“I was there and they did exceptionally well. Everything went great,” said Donna Brown, who was appointed to serve as chair on the new committee.
Furnier said that while certain procedures are in place regarding evacuations, this particular evacuation featured unique circumstances, noting that the school buses that would normally be used to evacuate students were out on a field trip at the time.
“A plan B was put into effect and we learned from that, also,” Furnier said. “We review those things, we learn from them, and we get advice from experts in the area.”
Furnier said district officials met with Greene County Sheriff Brian Tennant following the incident, and that Tennant “will be on our team as an emergency responder.”
Board members Mark Pochron and John Shaffer will also serve on the new committee.