Danville and Boyle County residents who own real estate will soon start paying a little more property tax to help offset funding shortages for the public schools.
On Monday, Danville Board of Education approved a modest property tax increase; on Aug. 16, Boyle County Board of Education approved a similar tax increase.
In Danville, anyone who owns real estate will pay a tax rate of 79.9 cents per $100, said Finance Officer Joy Campbell. Basically, someone who owns a $100,000 house will pay an extra $1.75 per month or $21 per year.
“It’s the price of a McDonald’s latte,” Campbell said of the monthly amount.
In Boyle County, anyone who owns real estate will pay a rate of 60.9 cents per $100, said Superintendent Mike LaFavers. That means someone who owns a $100,000 house in the county will pay an extra $23 per year.
Though it was an option, neither school district increased motor vehicle taxes.
“We understand the stress each tax increase puts on families,” LaFavers said. “But the same reasons we need to increase taxes are the same reasons that families really need tax rates to stay the same. Unfortunately, in this economy everything is costing more.”
The state and federal governments have reduced their financial support to all Kentucky school districts, including Danville and Boyle. Some funding issued to districts for 2012-13 is identical to funding for 2007-08.
However, the cost of diesel fuel has doubled since 2008 even though Boyle County has not added any bus routes. Student insurance rates have quadrupled, LaFavers said.
“We’re trying to keep our school system striving toward excellence, and the only way we could do that was to slightly increase tax rates,” Campbell said.
As a result of the increased rates, Danville and Boyle County each expect to generate about $240,000 of additional revenue for the school systems.
On Monday, Danville Board of Education approved a modest property tax increase; on Aug. 16, Boyle County Board of Education approved a similar tax increase.
In Danville, anyone who owns real estate will pay a tax rate of 79.9 cents per $100, said Finance Officer Joy Campbell. Basically, someone who owns a $100,000 house will pay an extra $1.75 per month or $21 per year.
“It’s the price of a McDonald’s latte,” Campbell said of the monthly amount.
In Boyle County, anyone who owns real estate will pay a rate of 60.9 cents per $100, said Superintendent Mike LaFavers. That means someone who owns a $100,000 house in the county will pay an extra $23 per year.
Though it was an option, neither school district increased motor vehicle taxes.
“We understand the stress each tax increase puts on families,” LaFavers said. “But the same reasons we need to increase taxes are the same reasons that families really need tax rates to stay the same. Unfortunately, in this economy everything is costing more.”
The state and federal governments have reduced their financial support to all Kentucky school districts, including Danville and Boyle. Some funding issued to districts for 2012-13 is identical to funding for 2007-08.
However, the cost of diesel fuel has doubled since 2008 even though Boyle County has not added any bus routes. Student insurance rates have quadrupled, LaFavers said.
“We’re trying to keep our school system striving toward excellence, and the only way we could do that was to slightly increase tax rates,” Campbell said.
As a result of the increased rates, Danville and Boyle County each expect to generate about $240,000 of additional revenue for the school systems.
