The Clark County Board of Education voted Tuesday to approve a 2.4 cent increase in its property tax rate for fiscal year 2012-2013.
The board voted unanimously to raise the rate from 51.2 cents to 53.6 cents per $100 of assessed value for real estate and personal property.
The Board also unanimously voted to keep the motor vehicle tax rate at 53.5 cents per $100 of assessed value and the utility tax rate at 3 percent, the same as the past two years.
The new rate means the owner of a house assessed at $100,000 will pay an additional $24 in taxes next year.
The move to increase the tax rate was spurred by the latest property tax assessment for the county, which showed a 2.28 percent growth in real and personal property and an increase in new property from last year of $40,705,000.
Any time school districts have an increase in local tax revenue, the state reduces its SEEK funding accordingly. The increased revenue from the higher property assessment means the district will lose $278,450 in SEEK funding for the 2012-2013 school year.
According to schools consultant Bob Arvin, the tax increase will generate about $260,000 in new revenue for the district to help offset the reduction in SEEK funding.
No one attended a public meeting held before the regular school board meeting designed to give the public an opportunity to discuss the proposed tax rates.
Before the vote, Dr. Mike Kuduk, who last year voiced concerns over a tax rate increase because of the effect the bad economy was having on families, said the lost state revenue this year left the Board with little choice but to raise the tax rate.
“I don’t think our economy is in any better shape that it was last year at this time, however, the loss of $275,000 in the state SEEK funding based on a permanent adjustment in real estate that is here now, is a real issue,” Kuduk said. “We are going to have to adjust our tax rates to accommodate that.”
In other business the Board:
— Approved Clark Middle School adding a volleyball program to begin play this school year at a total startup cost of $2,999.
— Approved allocating $2,500 to help fund the Junior Achievement program in the district.
— Approved creating committee to name new schools being created in the district and approved board member B.J. Swope to serve as the Board representative on the committee.
— Approved $3,000 to fund expenses for a Trapp Elementary School teacher and principal to attend the Blue Ribbon School Recognition in Washington D.C., Nov. 11-15.
The Board also spent considerable time once again discussing possible elementary school configurations once the new elementary school opens next year. The Board will vote on the configuration for the schools at its September meeting.
Contact Bob Flynn at bflynn@winchestersun.com
