Officials uncertain of future with new property tax bill

BROWNSBURG, Ind. Sun, May 18 2008

— Gov. Mitch Daniels signed the property tax bill last Wednesday in an effort to provide Hoosier taxpayers with some relief.
According to the bill, the state will take over the funding for school operations and special education preschool costs, while capping the residential property tax at 1 percent and commercial property tax at 3 percent.
The state will also provide $120 million in circuit-breaker relief and $400 million in tuition reserve fund money for the schools.
Dr. John McKinney, superintendent for the Danville Community School Corporation, said it looks like the corporation will be OK, but once 2010 rolls around, there may be some problems.
Plainfield Assistant Superintendent Jud Wolfe said because the corporation and other county schools have not received their 2008 budget and assessed evaluations from the state, they are not sure where they will be financially in 2010.
“We cannot make an educated projection for the future,” he added.
Although the state has agreed to pay for two of the school corporations’ funds, there are other funds — debt services, capital projects, and transportation — that will still be paid for by property taxes. With the new cap in place, school officials are charged with making cuts in those areas.
Several county school officials, including Wolfe and McKinney, said there is no way out of paying their mortgage and bonds. That means they will look into making cuts in capital projects and transportation.
Wolfe and McKinney each provided examples of what they might have to cut in order to keep the school running. Wolfe mentioned reducing the purchasing of instructional technology and delaying repairs to a school’s roof, while McKinney mentioned reducing the number of replacement bus purchases and delaying the repairs to a school’s heating system.
Both said this is just the beginning of cuts school officials may have to make in the near future.
“It’s those types of decisions you have to make,” Wolfe said. “But we really don’t know what the impact will be.”
Donna Petraits, director of communication for the Brownsburg Community School Corporation, said school officials there have started looking at where they can shave dollars without affecting the quality of education or impacting the quality of the staff.
Petraits explained that out of all the school corporations in Hendricks County, Brownsburg is the one taking the hardest hit from this new plan.
Unlike Plainfield schools who receive property taxes from an equal number of residential and commercial properties, Brownsburg schools receive property taxes primarily from residential properties.
As a result, Petraits said, they could lose a large chunk of their funding.
“We are getting hit the worst,” she added. “It’s ugly.”
Petraits said officials there are not looking at laying off teachers. She added that she is working to help reassure faculty and staff that this is the furthest thing from school officials’ minds.
McKinney said, “Citizens of this state have been supportive of public education. But I have yet to believe this bill is in the best interest of students and schools.”
He said this started three years ago when state legislators eliminated the business inventory tax. That put everything back on the state property tax and forced cities and towns to increase taxes, he said.
“The issue was problematic,” McKinney added. “It was only a matter of time.”
Leo Philbin, superintendent of North West Hendricks School Corporation, said he believes the measure was rushed due to election concerns at the state level.
“We are all going to end up in red ink,” he said.
Philbin explained that municipalities are also vying for revenue from the property taxes. Many communities — he cited Avon and Danville as examples — will have a tougher time getting their fair share of the pie.
Because of their small sizes, communities within the North West Hendricks School Corporation don’t have the same expenses. As a result, rural school communities should weather the change easier, he said.
Philbin said he is optimistic that the area will grow, which will offset the tax base.
“But only time will tell,” he added.

Amanda Roach writes for the Hendricks County Flyer in Avon, Ind.

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