Brownsville school board to consider motion to rescind tax hike
Brownsville Area School Board may consider a motion to rescind a property tax increase for the 2011-12 school year if the solicitor determines that the move is legal.
On Thursday, school Director Andy Dorsey made a motion to rescind the 3.5-mill tax increase that was approved by the board in June. But Jim Davis of Davis & Davis Attorneys At Law, the district’s solicitor, said he would need to investigate whether or not the district would be able to vote on such a motion.
Dorsey said he was frustrated over the confusion of the district’s finances and tried to rescind the tax increase after directors voted to reinstate the music program and brought back two previously furloughed teachers.
“I’m all for throwing stuff back into the budget, but only if we can we afford it,” he said. “I need clarification. I’ve been told the sky is falling since December. Now, it isn’t? Isn’t that why we raised taxes and made cuts and voted to close the Hiller building? And now you want to bring it all back?”
According to Dorsey, the board was told by district officials in June that the 3.5-mill tax increase was to cover debt carried over from last year’s budget of about $1 million. He said the board was also informed that the district made enough cuts to cover the nearly $1.9 million loss in state funding.
The district’s business manager, Mike Gigliotti, said Thursday that with the tax increase and the cuts, the district will not carry over more debt after this year, except for about $525,000 owed to the construction fund, which he said the district has not addressed with a plan yet.
Gigliotti said the music teachers were brought back after savings surfaced from an unneeded substitute position at Central Elementary as well as suggestions to the board to eliminate the driver’s education program and the district’s responsibility for transportation costs for athletics. Dorsey and Director Stella Broadwater both opposed a motion to charge student athletes for transportation.
“I have been asking for accurate figures for a long time now,” Broadwater said. “At this point, I don’t know how much we have or how much we don’t have, but I am not penalizing the kids with having them pay to play ball.”
Gigliotti also noted that the worker’s compensation premium for the district was lower than anticipated, allowing more money for the budget. Dorsey said he was not aware of the extra funding until Thursday and was frustrated that officials had the information for three weeks without notifying the board.
“Right now, I don’t know what’s true anymore,” Dorsey said. “I feel that (district officials) used scare tactics about the state coming in to coerce the board into raising taxes just to have a fund balance.”
On Thursday, Dorsey resigned as the board treasurer and head of the finance committee.