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Slight hike is expected in school tax rate |
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Written by Publisher
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Friday, 15 May 2009 |
Photo by Ted Lutz
The Finance Committee for the Kane School Board meets Thursday to review the tentative 2009-10 budget with Business Manager Steve Perry, seated. The committee includes Dave Westerburg, left, and Larry Lamping, right. Gary Ziegler, the third member of the Finance Committee, did not attend the meeting at the Kane Middle School library.
Property owners in the Kane Area School District may see a slight increase in their school tax bills due in August.
Acting at its regular meeting Thursday, the Kane School Board voted 7-0 to adopt a tentative 2009-2010 budget of $15,475,179.
The proposed new tax rate is expected to be 14.37 mills for the McKean County section of the district and 26.44 mills for the Elk County portion. The rates differ because the two counties do not have similar methods for setting property assessments.
The proposed new rates reflect a .57 mill increase. This proposed increase is expected to generate $109,000 more in property tax revenue for the district.
According to School District Business Manager Steve Perry, the proposed tax increase for the "average" residential property in the district would amount to $21.
The school board is expected to adopt a final budget at its meeting June 11. Changes are expected in the tentative budget, which will be available for public inspection at the school business office. The revisions are needed because Perry still is waiting for several figures to plug into the budget.
If the final budget includes the .57 mill increase, the Kane tax rate still will remain the lowest among all five school districts in McKean County and the four school districts in Elk County, according to figures compiled by Perry.
In addition to the $15.4 million budget, the school board gave approval to a $7.4 million capital reserve budget. This reserve budget has built up over several years and will be used to provide payments for part of the construction of the $22 million school project on West Hemlock Avenue.
The district is building a new elementary school as an addition to the middle school. A new wing for administration is being built on the west side of the building. The project also calls for extensive renovations to the middle school.
The proposed tax increase of 4.1 percent appears to be justified by calculations prepared by the state Department of Education, according to a report outlined by Perry.
The school board voted previously to limit an increase to 6.2 percent or .86 mill. Any tax hike over this amount would need approval by voters at a referendum. The proposed increase is 2.1 percent under the limit.
Dave Westerburg and Larry Lamping, members of the school board's Finance Committee, reviewed the budget proposal with Perry in a meeting prior to the regular school board meeting. School board members Dick Coleman, Ed Kocjancic Jr., Mark Paul, Harry Steele and Stephanie Eckstrom attended the Finance Committee meeting.
Board members Ken Kane and Gary Ziegler were absent from both the Finance Committee meeting and the regular board meeting.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 12 June 2009 )
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