LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Jefferson County Public Schools Board of Education voted in May to raise property taxes by 7 cents, but not everyone is happy with decision.
The board said money will be used for things like building new schools and fixing infrastructure, as well as closing the achievement gap by reducing the student to teacher ratio and bringing support staff into the school buildings.
After the vote, a 50-day period began for a petitioner to get about 40,000 signatures to put the tax increase on the November ballot. Right now, it has nearly 20,000 signatures halfway through that time period ending July 11.
JCPS board member James Craig said he knows budgets are tight, but the district desperately needs this money to make improvements to schools now.
“We have 156 school buildings and 30 of those are past end of life,” Craig said. “The most recent high school built in Jefferson county was in 1968, Ballard High School in my district.”
JCPS’s current property tax rate is 73.6 cents per $100 of assessed property value. The 7 cent increase approved by the board would bring the rate to 80.6 cents per $100 valuation. Meaning, if you have a $100,000 home, you will see a $70 increase in your taxes.
Craig said state and federal government are shifting the burden of funding onto local school districts, and Jefferson County property taxes are historically lower than districts in surrounding counties, like Oldham. He says Jefferson is a full quarter of a dollar lower than Anchorage.
“People are struggling and they don’t need this,” Theresa Camoriano said.
Camoriano started a petition to put the tax increase up for a recall at the polls in November.
She said she does not believe the tax will help increase student achievement and believes people should have a say in whether their taxes go up.
“I think that the tax hike is burdensome on the people of Louisville at this time especially with the COVID-19 closures and so many people out of work,” Camoriano said.
Craig said he understands this is a tough time for Louisvillians, including those who attend JCPS schools.
“These children need these resources even in the middle of a public health crisis,” Craig said. “If anything else, their needs are being exacerbated and are growing exponentially as compared to the rest of our community and we have to do this and we can’t wait.”
Still, the tax increase has a potential to be recalled as it will be a more than 4% increase. The Department of Education recommends each district takes 4% increase each year.
Craig said in the district’s history, as far as anyone at JCPS could find, it has never considered going above that 4%, but now is the time.
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