Rutland Herald
By Josh O’Gorman
Staff Writer | February 25,2014
Staff Writer | February 25,2014
KILLINGTON — Residents are looking at a
proposed school budget that is increasing 1 percent, but would add 17
cents to the tax rate.
One week from today, residents will head to the Town Office to vote on a proposed budget for Killington Elementary School of $1,579,954, an increase of $17,642, or 1.1 percent, compared to the current budget of $1,562,312.
Despite this modest increase, if the budget passes, property owners would see a significant increase in their tax bill.
Two factors have combined to create the jump in the tax rate, one local and the other statewide. First, the state Legislature has proposed raising the base tax rate from 94 cents to $1.01.
“That’s a 7-cent increase that will affect everyone in the state,” said David Leenders, director of finance for the Windsor Central Supervisory Union, which includes Killington Elementary.
The proposed increase, which has to be approved by the Legislature, caught a number of school boards off guard in January, a time when the boards have typically finished planning their proposed budgets for the upcoming fiscal year.
The increase sent the Rutland Town School Board back to work after learning their proposed budget, with an increase of 1.6 percent, would add 12.7 cents to the tax rate. The board made deep cuts, to the point of having a proposed budget that is not only lower than the current budget, but is lower than the budget from the year before. Even so, it would add 5.5 cents to the residential tax rate.
“We have a lot of things that are out of our control,” said Jennifer Iannantuoni, chairwoman of the Killington Elementary School Board. “It’s not that much of a budget increase, which isn’t reflected in the increase in taxes.”
The other factor driving the increase to the tax rate is a decrease in the number of students attending the school.
“They had a fairly large sixth-grade class that moved on to Woodstock (the designated middle and high school for Killington),” Leenders said. “The incoming kindergarten class is smaller.”
When calculating the tax rate, the state’s education funding formula doesn’t count the number of students, but the number of “equalized pupils,” which gives greater weight to some students than others, depending on the students’ needs.
The number of equalized pupils is dropping from 58.6 to 50.3, which results in an increase in the tax rate.
Not taking into account income sensitivity, which caps a tax bill based on the property owner’s income, the owner of a $300,000 home would see an increase in his or her tax bill of $510.
Despite the potential tax increase, Iannantuoni believes voters will approve the budget.
“This community has always been so supportive of the school,” she said. “I think the board feels confident that it is presenting a budget that is both fiscally responsible and remains true to our mission as a school to provide a world-class education.”
josh.ogorman
@rutlandherald.com
One week from today, residents will head to the Town Office to vote on a proposed budget for Killington Elementary School of $1,579,954, an increase of $17,642, or 1.1 percent, compared to the current budget of $1,562,312.
Despite this modest increase, if the budget passes, property owners would see a significant increase in their tax bill.
Two factors have combined to create the jump in the tax rate, one local and the other statewide. First, the state Legislature has proposed raising the base tax rate from 94 cents to $1.01.
“That’s a 7-cent increase that will affect everyone in the state,” said David Leenders, director of finance for the Windsor Central Supervisory Union, which includes Killington Elementary.
The proposed increase, which has to be approved by the Legislature, caught a number of school boards off guard in January, a time when the boards have typically finished planning their proposed budgets for the upcoming fiscal year.
The increase sent the Rutland Town School Board back to work after learning their proposed budget, with an increase of 1.6 percent, would add 12.7 cents to the tax rate. The board made deep cuts, to the point of having a proposed budget that is not only lower than the current budget, but is lower than the budget from the year before. Even so, it would add 5.5 cents to the residential tax rate.
“We have a lot of things that are out of our control,” said Jennifer Iannantuoni, chairwoman of the Killington Elementary School Board. “It’s not that much of a budget increase, which isn’t reflected in the increase in taxes.”
The other factor driving the increase to the tax rate is a decrease in the number of students attending the school.
“They had a fairly large sixth-grade class that moved on to Woodstock (the designated middle and high school for Killington),” Leenders said. “The incoming kindergarten class is smaller.”
When calculating the tax rate, the state’s education funding formula doesn’t count the number of students, but the number of “equalized pupils,” which gives greater weight to some students than others, depending on the students’ needs.
The number of equalized pupils is dropping from 58.6 to 50.3, which results in an increase in the tax rate.
Not taking into account income sensitivity, which caps a tax bill based on the property owner’s income, the owner of a $300,000 home would see an increase in his or her tax bill of $510.
Despite the potential tax increase, Iannantuoni believes voters will approve the budget.
“This community has always been so supportive of the school,” she said. “I think the board feels confident that it is presenting a budget that is both fiscally responsible and remains true to our mission as a school to provide a world-class education.”
josh.ogorman
@rutlandherald.com
Comment: So if this budget is passed along with the town's we will have an increase of around 19 cents and each property owner would pay hundreds if not thousands more in property taxes. While I generally support educational efforts I find it hard to support this increase in the face of declining enrollment. The budget should be going down not up!
Vito
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