The first proposition on the North Summit School District ballot is asking voters permission to add up to .001 percent to the district’s portion of property taxes. If passed, the property tax addition, known as a leeway rate, will allow the School District to transfer money into its maintenance and operations fund. The transfer will help the School District ensure a quality education for its students, said North Summit School District Superintendent Jerre Holmes.
“It’s like a teeter-totter. Whatever amount we put into the new levy is what will be decreased from the other levies, so taxes don’t go up,” said North Summit School District Business Administrator Rex Smith.
The property-tax increase could be as high as .001, but Smith said it will most likely be lower. A primary residential property valued at $200,000 with a leeway rate of .001 would increase the School District’s portion of property tax by $110. However, because the School District can control its funding, Smith said the rates will be lowered in other areas so taxes will not go up for community members.
“Instead of using the .001, we may only need .0003 or .0004, and we would set the voted leeway at that rate,” he said. “The increase will be evaluated at the end of the 2012-2013 fiscal year, when the budget is set.”
The reason for proposing the additional property tax is due to the School District’s decrease in revenue over the last couple of years.
“We’ve had a need to propose this, but we felt we had to get things lined up so we can explain it to people and they can see that we need to have it passed,” Smith said.
According to Holmes, transferring money into the maintenance and operations fund will allow the School District to pay for its day to-day operations, such as employee salaries, basic maintenance and power bills, without an increase in property taxes for community members. Over the last few years, Holmes said, the district has refrained from hiring 15 additional people, including six teachers, a counselor, an administrator and seven classified staff members.
Holmes said he’s hoping the economy will bounce back, but for now the goal is to get the levy in place so the School District can pay its bills.
The district sent out a pamphlet this week to residents and business owners. Holmes will be holding a public meeting on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. in the North Summit High School auditorium to help community members understand the ballot proposition.