The Fort Wayne Community Schools board amended its proposed budget Monday to decrease a property tax increase from 3.2 percent to 2 percent.
Board president Mark GiaQuinta and member Steve Corona dissented in a 5-2 board vote on the resolution.
A 2 percent increase would equal an additional $20 per month for a taxpayer with a home valued at $100,000 whose bill has not reached the state-mandated 1 percent property tax cap.
The 3.2 percent increase would have raised that same monthly bill by about $33, said Kathy Friend, chief financial officer.
The change will cut $2.6 million from the FWCS capital projects and transportation funds. About $2 million would have been used to repair bleachers at Wayne and Northrop high schools and replace a section of the roof at North Side High School.
The proposed budget will now total about $285 million, but Friend estimates that after property tax caps, the budget will come to about $276 million.
The 1.2 percent extra tax increase was allowed as part of legislative changes made this year. A previous law required Indiana school districts to take out a bond issue to cover pension obligations, and required districts to cut other funds to ensure that taxes wouldn’t be increased to make bond payments.
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The board’s decision follows Mayor Tom Henry’s move to back down on a 5.7 percent property tax hike in the city’s proposed budget. He instead proposed a 2.8 percent increase, but the City Council denied any increase to property taxes for the city budget.
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