From the Muncie Star-Press:
Muncie Community School officials reversed course and announced Tuesday that a proposed referendum on Nov. 5 will only fund transportation.
The changes announced at the school board meeting Tuesday night come after school officials calculated that the $.3939 increase in property taxes for every $100 of assessed value called for in the referendum would not raise $6 million as they had previously thought.
They now believe that tax increase would raise closer to what they need to cover transportation costs only - $3,352,252 - and not technology and building repairs as previously stated, according to Chief Financial Officer Mark Burkhart.
“After consulting with (Supt. Tim Heller), it was clear that the amount would not raise the money needed to fund everything on the list,” Burkhart said after the meeting.
“Transportation is our top priority,” he added.
Burkhart said the township is losing more “taxable tax base” each year (about 4 percent), so property tax dollars will become more difficult to generate.
The referendum calls for a $.3939 increase in property taxes for every $100 of assessed value. That works out to about $65 a year, after homestead deductions, for a $75,000 home.
If the referendum passes, the 2014 fund will cover the running of the daily buses, special education buses, extra-curricular buses, drivers, vehicle insurance and the running and maintaining of the district’s 10 buses not operated by M&M Bus Co.
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See the full article here:
http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013309110015
