Residents in Newton school district to see tax increase
Comments (...)The Newton Community School District Board of Education met with district principals and administrators Monday night for a budget planning work session. Among hot topics discussed were the cash reserve levy, district facility usage ideas and potential program or staff reductions.
According to figures given by Gayle Isaac, director of business services, property taxes for Newton residents likely will raise in the coming fiscal year by about $32.14 with a cash levy reserve amount of $900,000.
“We definitely need a healthy fund balance to address some of those needs that are unplanned,” Isaac said, citing the possibility of unforeseen circumstances and expenditures.
In 2012, a home with an assessed value of $100,000 has a taxable value of $45,000. With a levy rate of 16.24, property taxes currently stand at $730.70 for the school portion of homeowner. However, 2013 figures for that same home have raised to an assessed value of $106,500 and a taxable value of $47,925. Therefore, even with a lower levy rate of 15.92, property taxes for that homeowner would increase to $762.84.
“It’s important that we’re frugal, it’s important that we’re responsible, it’s important that we provide services to our kids, but it’s also important not to take the public on a roller coaster ride with our levy rate,” Superintendent Steve McDermott said.
In order for homeowners to pay roughly the same as they do in the current fiscal year, the cash reserve levy amount would reduce drastically to $425,000, giving a levy rate of 15.24 and a property tax amount of $730.43.
On the subject of utilizing various district buildings, Emerson Hough again became a main talking point. Currently, the former elementary school houses the 3- and 4-year-old preschool programs as well as some administration. Other possibilities include relocating Central Office to Emerson Hough or even moving Basics & Beyond students into a wing of the building.
According to information from McDermott, there are more pros than cons of moving Central Office — which currently is housed in the Fred Maytag home — into Emerson Hough. The former elementary is ADA compliant, has improved security, offers a central location in the community and would offer improved functionality for administrators as their work spaces would be better connected. On the flip side, the Maytag home offers heritage, is close to the Annex, offers ample parking and has fewer interruptions due to not being in a school setting.
Basics & Beyond principal Laura Selover also spoke of the possibility of moving the alternative high school from its current location in DMACC to Emerson Hough.
“(Basics & Beyond) really needs a separate setting because those kids have not been successful at the high school,” Selover said. “DMACC’s a nice building ... but there are a lot of distractions in the building and this year more than any there have been people coming in looking for certain kids, and that really concerns me.”
Because of the way Emerson Hough is built, housing preschoolers with high schoolers shouldn’t be a concern, administrators said. There is potential for a separate, secure entrance for Basics students in another wing of the building, and housing the younger and older students together also could provide opportunities for “a phenomenal early childhood strand,” said Jim Gilbert, director of elementary education.
“Those Basics & Beyond kids are going to wrap their arms around those preschool kids and embrace them more than you’re going to have resistance to it,” Berg Middle School Principal Scott Bauer said.
Finally, potential program and staff reductions were briefly touched on during the budget work shop.
“Right now at this point I don’t believe we have preliminarily identified any programs for reduction,” McDermott said.
However, the superintendent noted that five or six staff positions could be reduced.
“Initially we were looking at 20 positions maybe. Hopefully we’ll keep those to a minimum if at all possible,” he said.
Amy Gronauer can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 426 or via e-mail at agronauer@newtondailynews.com.
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