MCCSC school board members are weighing options for a second ballot referendum to keep in place a property tax increase voters approved in 2010. The district has until November 2016 to initiate a new ballot question on whether the schools should continue to get the extra money.
While no votes were taken at a work session this week, members of the board expressed interest in asking voters to renew the current special levy that raises about $7.5 million per year for school programming, salaries and support services.
“You and a few other schools are in a unique position here in that now you’re not asking the taxpayers to potentially increase their tax rate; you’re asking them just to just keep it where it is, and that may be politically more palatable,” said Jane Herndon, a partner of the legal firm of Ice Miller.
Herndon presented the school board with information about the process of putting a question on the ballot and about various options MCCSC has, each with its own pros and cons. For instance, the school board could ask voters to approve another referendum in the November 2015 municipal election or the May 2016 primary. If the ballot initiative was unsuccessful, the district still would have another shot at passing the referendum in November 2016.
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