USD 480 Meets For Budget Work Session

The Board of Education met for a Budget Workshop Thursday evening and the reason for it was to see administration’s proposal for the 2011-12 budget.

The proposed budget lowers the total mill levy, however, it also raises taxes by 2.55% from last year’s budget. Home evaluations went up this year which was part of why the 2.55% was on the proposal. However, the ‘Future Needs Plan’ was also the reason the tax increase is there. If the ‘Future Needs Plan’ had not passed there would have been zero extra taxes levied.

As a board, they discussed several different ways to potentially get the 2.55% down to zero. A plan that was proposed was to take the three extra days that teachers are scheduled to work this year off the table. This would save the district enough to not raise taxes, and it would be a great morale booster for the teachers who strongly were against having to work three extra days this upcoming school year. Amy Ricks who is the Vice President of the LNEA was at the workshop and was in favor of this idea, and felt that if a vote to the teachers could be done that it would almost for sure pass. She also felt that it would be a great morale to the teachers. I

A proposal by Mr. Steve Helm to reduce the mill levy by a half mill which reduced the tax increase to a 1.25% increase instead of a 2.55% increase was what ended up getting a consensus of the board. Since it was just a workshop, this wasn’t an official vote, but it does give the business director the power to now publish the proposed budget. The official vote on the proposed budget will be on Monday, August 1. The consensus to support the budget was Helm, Nick Hatcher, Chris Jewell, Delvin Kinser, and Cheryl Louderback. Those opposed were Tammy Sutherland-Abbott and Reid Petty