Lawrence school board considers slight property tax increase – The Lawrence Times
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On Monday, Lawrence School Board members will vote on a maximum tax levy for this year’s budget that would result in a property tax increase.
The proposed tax levy is 52,252, an increase of 0.042 per thousand over the rate of 52,210 approved last year.
The increase is relatively small, but most property owners saw a significant increase in their assessed value. The district’s total value to the general fund increased by about 6.7%. The board would need to lower the tax rate to keep taxes stable.
“The board’s proposed budget includes the state’s maximum allowable local option budget of 33% of the General Fund or 14.517 per thousand, 8 per thousand for capital expenditures and 8.301 per thousand for bond and interest payments for debt service,” said a press release from county spokeswoman Julie Boyle.
The total proposed budget is approximately $215.7 million.
The district will receive about $2 million in additional funding for special education from the state this year. In addition, state funding per student will increase from $5,088 to $5,378, an increase of 5.7 percent.
Once approved, the board can lower tax rates above the maximum rate it will vote on Monday, but it cannot raise rates beyond that amount.
Here is the proposed memo that the Board will consider approving. The full budget agenda item can be found at this link.
20240825-USD-497-Notice of Hearing
Miscellaneous:
• The board will consider a number of policy changes as part of its consent agenda or develop a list of items that are generally considered routine and approved with a motion unless a board member or the superintendent requests to withdraw an item for further discussion. A new policy calls for annual evaluations of coaches and activity sponsors.
• Also on the agenda is approval of $265,600 in spending for portable panic buttons for the 16 district buildings that do not yet have the technology, including the central administrative offices and the facilities and operations campus. About half of the cost will be covered by Safe Schools Grant funds; the rest will come from the district’s capital fund.
The Board will meet at 6 p.m. on Monday, August 26 at the District Office, 110 McDonald Drive. The Board’s public budget hearings will be held on Monday, September 9.
Meetings are open to the public and will be live-streamed on the district’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/@USD497) and broadcast on Midco channel 26. Full meeting agendas are available on BoardDocs at go.boarddocs.com.
To provide public comment during the board meeting, please register prior to the start of the meeting either in person or by email to [email protected]. Commenters may request to participate via Webex video/teleconference.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about her work for The Times here. Read her staff bio here.
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