School budget requires nearly $5 million in local property taxes

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

By CONNIE JO DISCOE

Regional Editor

McCook Public Schools' board of education approved the 2004-2005 budget, tax request and tax levy during its monthly meeting Monday evening.

The schools' budget of $22,030,811 requires $4.966 million in local property taxes.

The tax levy of $1.19156582 per $100 of valuation is ever so slightly lower than last year's levy of $1.19232518.

This year's tax request is $85,033 higher than last year's.

Finance Director Randall Datus told educators the school district's valuation increased 1.8067 percent, from $409,429,860 in 2003-2004 to $416,827,076 in 2004-2005. Because the increase in valuation is not significant, Datus said, the tax levy can remain relatively constant.

Board member Dawn Andersen said, "The district has done a good job of holding the line."

School board candidate Tom Bredvick thanked the board for its work on the budget and for the slight decrease in the levy. Bredvick campaigned heavily for the renovation and construction project at North Ward on the premise that the bond levy for the construction project would replace the levy for a soon-to-expire lease-purchase project levy and would not significantly increase taxes. Bredvick told educators Monday, "I stood up in front of a lot of people, saying you would do this (keep the levy constant), so I thank you."

A fellow school board candidate, Gary Power, however, took the other side. He told the board, "You're making a mistake asking for an increase in taxes."

Power also objected to the board's approval of implementing the authority to exceed the basic allowable growth rate of 00.00 percent and accessing the applicable allowable growth rate of 00.9984 percent plus 1.00 percent.

What this move does, Datus said, is increases the district's budget authority, not its spending. It is, essentially, Datus said, quoting former board president Jim Coady, "a savings account for future boards."

Datus explained that without this authority, if someone gave the school $2 million, it would not be allowed to spend it.

"It is in the fiscal best interest of the school," Datus said, to approve this authority.

The board also voted unanimously to exceed the $1.05 state-mandated levy limit by an amount equal to the reduction of $116,454 in state aid.

The entire school budget is printed on Page 13 of the Sept. 8 issue of the Gazette.

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