LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Jefferson County Public School Board has decided to increase property taxes, but not as high as originally planned.
The board's final vote was for a 4% increase on "real property" and "personal property", which is lower than the initial proposal of up to 4.8%.
Currently, the rate sits at 76.3 cents and 76.8 cents, respectively.
JCPS spokesperson Mark Hebert said the increased rate will help generate additional revenue for the district for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Hebert said roughly 46% of JCPS' revenue comes from taxes on local property like homes, land and boats. The district's current budget is $2.1 billion.
"The school board and district won't know for certain what tax rate(s) might result in a 4% boost in revenue until the assessments submitted by the Jefferson County Property Valuation Administrator are certified by the Kentucky Department of Revenue," he said in a statement.
Those certifications aren't expected until August.
A public hearing was held prior to the board's vote Tuesday night.
“You all have been making some good bets with education with some of that money. We want to keep those programs going – some of which are mental health, professional staffing and restorative practice trained teachers,” Chris Harmer, who spoke at the forum, said.
However, some felt as though raising taxes would not solve the root problems at JCPS. Ted Molong, a retired teacher, said he's "seen a pattern."
“I’ve seen a pattern. You keep asking for more money," Molong said at the forum. "You put more money into something, and the results were not any better. Now I’m saying that as a teacher who has been in the ranks experiencing that.
Hebert said in the past two years, the JCPS Board has approved tax rates lower than the previous year.
"Ballooning property values in Jefferson County the past two years have resulted in an additional 4% in revenue for JCPS without increasing the tax rate," he said.
In fact, Herbert said in the past two years the board cut the increased tax rate and still received an additional 4% in revenue. He added that Superintendent D. Marty Pollio believes the same thing could happen this year.
The tax increase is expected to begin on July 1.
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