Special to the Times-Review
September 05, 2008 09:25 am
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Alvarado ISD’s board of trustees approved a lower tax rate and the 2008-09 budget at a called meeting Aug. 28.
Despite a tighter budget, the board dropped the tax rate from $1.41 to $1.3069. The rate remained the same for maintenance and operations, but there was a significant drop in debt service, which was down from 37 cents to 26.9 cents.
“The reason we were able to significantly lower the tax rate is because of the phenomenal rise in property tax values due primarily to the gas well boom,” Alvarado ISD Superintendent Chester Juroska said. “However, the down side is that while the state allows schools to capitalize on the increased values to pay for debt, it does not allow the same for maintenance and operations.
“The state has capped the M&O tax rate at $1.04, as well as the amount of funds that a school can generate. When the increased values generate more money than the school is allowed, the state backs an equal amount of its funding.
“In essence, the taxpayers of Alvarado are funding the state treasury, while we are tightening our belt because of exorbitant fuel costs, rising prices on food and everything else, while we try to maintain competitive on teacher salaries.”
The approved budget, which includes pay raises for district employees, new positions, allowances for higher gas prices, higher energy prices, higher food prices and bond money, was set at $50,273,031.
The next scheduled meeting will be Sept. 16.
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