Carmichaels district budget includes tax increase
CARMICHAELS – Taxpayers in the Carmichaels Area School District will be facing a property tax rate increase next year. The school board voted Thursday to adopt a $13.4 million 2007-08 budget that includes a .9-mill property tax increase.
The tax levy will increase from 19.3 mills to 20.2 mills. For every $10,000 in assessed property value, property owners next year will pay $202. A property owner with a home valued at $60,000 will pay $1,212 in real estate taxes, up from $1,158.
The $13,470,490 budget adopted Thursday is 2.4 percent more than the current budget, which is $13,152,790.
The board approved a tentative budget last month of $13,668,312. The final budget calls for $197,822 less in spending. The board trimmed the tentative budget by adjusting health insurance costs, cutting special education spending and cutting severance, business manager Amy Todd said.
Resident James Holmes spoke out against the tax-rate increase, saying that he would have liked to see the district decrease the tax rate by 3 mills because there were 18 retirements in the district.
Todd said that savings from the retirements is minimal because retirees still receive insurance benefits and the district is hiring new staff for all but four positions, which also will receive insurance benefits.
The board voted Thursday to fill 13 of the 14 staff positions for the 2007-08 school year.
The board hired Ashley Speeney and Lindsey Byron for math positions; Katrina Caffrey for an English position; Rebecca May for a social studies position; Lori Shank for a physical education position; Shannon Adamson, Kathleen Cyr, Fred Morecraft, Sondra Williamson, Keith Gillis and Joey Udovich for elementary school teaching positions; Gayle Jesse for an elementary school computer position; and Corey VanSickle as junior-senior high guidance counselor.