The Appoquinimink School District Board of Education voted unanimously at its June 8 meeting to reduce the annual tax warrant by 1.93 cents for every $100 of assessed value on property.
The total tax rate for 2011 will be $1.4527, which represents a 1.3 percent decrease from last year’s rate of $1.4720.
Dr. Chuck Longfellow, director of finance for the district, said the main reason for the reduction is that the district was able to reduce costs in some areas and come in under budget this year.
Longfellow said the district once again reduced the tuition tax, which represents the amount needed to fund out-of-district placement for students with special needs.
“We’re able to serve more students in the district, and this has been a trend that’s been going on for the last few years,” he said.
Longfellow said the growth of the district is also an added benefit because it allows for the amount of assessed property to increase.
“It’s not going up as much as it had in the past, but it still goes up, which means the revenue we receive per penny of tax rate goes up,” he said.
Other components that account for the tax rate are current expense revenue, which pays for the general operation of the district and specific programs per voter referenda; debt service reveunues, which pay for retirement of authorized capital improvement bonds; and match tax revenues, which pay for repair and replacement of equipment and facilities, and for expense matching as allowed by State law.
Longfellow said the Board’s vote was contingent on the approval of the district’s Joint Finance Committee, which does not meet until July 6. The tax warrant is due to New Castle County by July 8.
Longfellow said the tax warrant is also contingent on Gov. Jack Markell’s proposed budget plan, which must be approved by June 30. The plan includes a 25 percent reduction of State transportation funds, which would result in approximately $1.2 million in cuts for the district.
The bill states “School districts are hereby permitted to match the state’s allocation on a 75/25 state/local basis for the purposes of funding pupil transportation.”
District officials and many state legislators have been fighting the cuts since February.
Longfellow said if the budget is approved with the proposed transportation cuts, then the district will have to re-evaluate the tax rate and the Board of Education will have to vote on the new rate.
“There definitely wouldn’t be a [tax] decrease,” he said.
But Longfellow said it is hard to say if it would result in a tax increase.
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The Appoquinimink School District Board of Education voted unanimously at its June 8 meeting to reduce the annual tax warrant by 1.93 cents for every $100 of assessed value on property.
The total tax rate for 2011 will be $1.4527, which represents a 1.3 percent decrease from last year’s rate of $1.4720.
Dr. Chuck Longfellow, director of finance for the district, said the main reason for the reduction is that the district was able to reduce costs in some areas and come in under budget this year.
Longfellow said the district once again reduced the tuition tax, which represents the amount needed to fund out-of-district placement for students with special needs.
“We’re able to serve more students in the district, and this has been a trend that’s been going on for the last few years,” he said.
Longfellow said the growth of the district is also an added benefit because it allows for the amount of assessed property to increase.
“It’s not going up as much as it had in the past, but it still goes up, which means the revenue we receive per penny of tax rate goes up,” he said.
Other components that account for the tax rate are current expense revenue, which pays for the general operation of the district and specific programs per voter referenda; debt service reveunues, which pay for retirement of authorized capital improvement bonds; and match tax revenues, which pay for repair and replacement of equipment and facilities, and for expense matching as allowed by State law.
Longfellow said the Board’s vote was contingent on the approval of the district’s Joint Finance Committee, which does not meet until July 6. The tax warrant is due to New Castle County by July 8.
Longfellow said the tax warrant is also contingent on Gov. Jack Markell’s proposed budget plan, which must be approved by June 30. The plan includes a 25 percent reduction of State transportation funds, which would result in approximately $1.2 million in cuts for the district.
The bill states “School districts are hereby permitted to match the state’s allocation on a 75/25 state/local basis for the purposes of funding pupil transportation.”
District officials and many state legislators have been fighting the cuts since February.
Longfellow said if the budget is approved with the proposed transportation cuts, then the district will have to re-evaluate the tax rate and the Board of Education will have to vote on the new rate.
“There definitely wouldn’t be a [tax] decrease,” he said.
But Longfellow said it is hard to say if it would result in a tax increase.
