Upcoming School Levy Vote in May Explained

In a press release sent out last week, Superintendent of Glasgow Public Schools Bob Connors sought to explain the district’s proposed general fund levy. The proposed levy will be voted on at the May 8, annual school election.

According to Connors, the district will be asking for a levy increase of 8.12 mills. This proposal will bring the new total school levy assessment to 85.10 mills up from 76.98 mills the previous years.

The intent in increasing the general fund levy, according to the district’s release, is to increase wage competitiveness. There is an apparent need for Glasgow schools to increase retention of current teachers and to be more attractive in recruiting new teachers to the area.

The district’s release projects the additional costs to taxpayers saying, “The increase of 8.12 mills translates to a $10.96 per year impact on a $100,000 home and $21.92 per year impact on a $200,000 home. The impact on a dry land acre would be approximately $.17/acre (8.12 mills*$0.02/acre), $0.65/acre (8.12 mills*$0.08/acre) on irrigated land and $.05/acre (8.12 mills*$0.006/acre) on grazing lands.”

The school district also covered requirements under Senate Bill 307 to notify the public of changes to non-voted levies before they occur. The district is projecting possible increases to transportation, bus depreciation, tuition, adult education and building reserve. According to Connors, the non-voted levy will have a possible impact of 5.92 mills for the coming year, but will be not be finalized until August.

The release broke out the non-voted levy numbers with the following information: “The increase of 5.92 mills translates to a $7.99 per year impact on a $100,000 home and $15.98 per year impact on a $200,000 home. The impact on a dry land acre would be approximately $.12/acre (5.92*.02/acre), $.48/acre (5.92*.08/acre) on irrigated land and $.04/acre (5.92*0.006/acre) on grazing lands.”

The superintendent also noted that the state has lowered the “General-Base” levy assessment by 8.79 mills. The funding reduction will be made up through the Guaranteed Tax Base Aid, which is provided by the state through a complex calculation of number of students and retirement paid accounts in relationship to the district’s mill levy numbers. They receive this tax aid because Glasgow schools has a lower property valuation in relation to number of students.

Due to the state’s permissive levy adjustments, the tax aid, and the increase general fund levy, the total tax adjustment will be an increase of 5.33 mills. Connors broke the total levy adjustment down in the following way, “The voted levy request is for 8.12 mills and our Debt Service fund increases by .08. Our estimate of our permissive levy is an increase of 5.92 mills. The overall mill adjustment will be 5.33 mills (8.12+.08+5.92 -8.79 =5.33 mills).”

The district clarified the tax assessment change for a property owner in the district in the following terms: “5.33 mills translates to a $7.19 per year impact on a $100,000 home and $14.38 per year impact on a $200,000 home. The impact on a dry land acre would be approximately $0.11/acre (5.33*.02/acre), $0.43/acre (5.33*0.8/acre) on irrigated land and $0.32/acre (5.33*0.006/acre) on grazing lands.”