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School board weighs raising district 7 millage as major taxpayer appeals valuation
Summary
Board members reviewed scenarios for meeting bond debt after staff said a large local taxpayer (referred to as "IP") is seeking a 50% reduction in assessed value; staff recommended setting district 7 at 16 mills to protect the debt-service fund, with a final adoption slated for next meeting.
The Natchitoches Parish School Board on May 5 discussed adopting its 2026 millage resolution amid uncertainty over the assessed value of a large local taxpayer.
Finance staff told the board that the district must set debt-service millages before July 1 and that bond counsel recommended increasing the district 7 debt millage to 16 mills to ensure the district meets annual debt obligations even if the taxpayer succeeds in reducing its valuation. "The tax assessor did affirm to me that IP is making an appeal to them to value it at the 50%," Miss Dunn said, describing a working scenario in which that appeal would cut the property's assessed value roughly in half.
Why it matters: a sustained reduction in the taxpayer's assessed value would shrink the tax base used to pay a roughly $500,000-a-year debt-service obligation. Under staff projections — which assume a 93% collection rate — leaving the millage at 13 mills would leave the debt-service fund with a smaller balance (about $168,000 under the 50% scenario) while a 16-mill assessment would raise that year's reserve to about $323,000, still less than one year of annual debt service.
Board discussion centered on the uncertainty of the assessor's final determination, which staff said will not be available until the official tax roll in September. "Those values are not available until after the tax roll is provided which is in September," Miss Dunn told the board, adding that the 50% projection is the working assumption used by counsel and the assessor for planning purposes. Members noted recent shortfalls in other collections and voiced concern that overly optimistic collection-rate estimates increase the risk of coming up short.
No final vote was taken. The board agreed the staff recommendation will be presented as a resolution at the next meeting, with the initial draft to designate 16 mills for district 7 and leave other millages unchanged. The board can revisit millage levels in subsequent years if the assessor's determination or collection experience changes.
