Property taxes funding a bulk of the revenue of the St. Charles Parish school system will be up for renewal at the April 29 election, after the parish’s School Board recently voted to approve a resolution to place the item on the ballot.
One property tax provides the main funding to the school system’s general fund, which pays for the salaries and benefits of its employees, while the other is dedicated to the repair and upkeep of buildings, paying for the salaries and benefits of all maintenance employees and the cost building repairs. “The first millage makes up 37.4 percent of the General Fund revenue,” said Jim Melohn, St. Charles Public School’s Chief Financial Officer and Legislative Liaison. “That is the equivalent to the salary and benefits of 833 teachers. That is over 100 percent of the teachers. The second millage makes up 100 percent of the funding for the Construction Fund. The School District cannot survive without the renewal of these two critical revenue sources.”
The renewals would go into effect beginning in 2018 and would run through 2027.
The millage funding the operating and maintaining the public schools’ educational system, buildings and other facilities would see an increase of .21 mills, from the previous rate of 42.97 mills to 43.18 mills.
An estimated $53.3 million would be generated over an entire year. Meanwhile, the millage creating funds for constructing and improving school houses in the district would increase by .02 mills, from 4.90 to 4.92. The rate would generate an estimated $6 million for an entire year.
But while those millage rates will spike, it won’t mean an increase for local taxpayers. In adopting the millages this year, the School Board voted to ensure the total millage rate was the same as the prior year, opting to significantly decrease its bond millage in order to balance the numbers.
The bond millage deals with the repaying debt.
The Board said the rate adjustments have occurred due to the recent reassessment of properties in the parish. The School System, like the parish government, is contending with a downturn in oil prices that has cut into a major source of funding called the inventory tax, which is assessed based on the value of goods stored in the parish.
Melohn said the millages adjust every four years with reassessment and that if the total value assessed increases at the next reassessment, the millage rates would reduce as they had every other reassessment before this year.
Be the first to comment