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Board keeps tax rate steady after certified new-growth falls short of estimate
Summary
At a public hearing the Morgan County School District business administrator said certified new-growth was $1.4 million, below the $1.745 million estimate; the board approved the final 2526 budget and tentative 2627 budget and said it will not pursue an August tax increase.
The Morgan County School District board moved into a public hearing on the budget at 6:00 p.m. and heard a presentation from Business Administrator Scott McMillan on statewide and local funding mechanics. McMillan told the board the district’s certified new-growth figure arrived at $1,400,000, below the $1,745,000 the district had used in May for planning, and the board intends to scale its planned spending to match the lower number rather than propose a tax increase in August.
"We received the actual new-growth number 24 hours ago — it came in at $1,400,000," McMillan said, explaining the board’s recommendation to reduce planned requests so the district will not add additional local tax revenue beyond new growth. He described the district’s need to use local levies to cover the difference between state per-student funding (a $4,870 weighted pupil unit) and local costs, and outlined how much of the new-growth funding was proposed to serve special education and operating costs.
McMillan presented details on proposed uses for that funding, saying roughly $1.1 million of the planned $1.4 million would cover special-education costs that federal and state sources do not fully fund. "This is not $1.1 million for new programs; it’s to maintain and fill that hole in our current level of offering," he said. He also described small increases in school-lunch costs and health insurance baked into the budget.
Following public comment from Morgan County Assessor Janelle Walker, who described the county’s rapid taxable-value growth and ongoing appeals for large developments, the board voted to approve the district’s final budget for 2526 and the tentative budget for 2627. President Preston Adams said the board will revisit one-time-funded items next year and confirmed the board’s intent to forgo a Truth in Taxation tax increase in August.
What happens next: the board approved the two budget documents and will monitor revenues and revisit items funded with one-time money during the coming budget cycle.
