Monroe County schools OKs putting tax referendum on fall 2016 ballot

The referendum was proposed on the heels of a 2010 referendum, which was approved by voters and which — from 2011 to 2016 — has annually brought in $7.5 million from a property tax increase the district has used to shore up budgets affected by statewide cuts to education. With the 2010 referendum dollars ending after 2016, the corporation will seek another six-year funding boost from voters in the November general election, a step MCCSC officials say is necessary to continue the high quality of education the district provides.

While voters in 2010 approved a property tax increase up to 14 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, MCCSC has always taken less and has reduced the rate each year, with the rate at 12 cents per $100 of assessed valuation in 2015. The district has proposed a plan to ask even less from voters — a rate of 0.1150 — in the 2016 referendum, which would be about $94 per year based on a home assessed at $175,000 market value.

The decision to officially approve the tax levy came after a promising report from Don Lifto of Springsted, an advising company, who presented the findings from a May survey. Lifto reported that the survey included 400 interviews with registered voters in the district, over the phone, targeting all demographics. The 400 interviewees were almost evenly split by gender, with 47 percent men and 53 percent women in every age group.