The West Burlington School Board met Monday to discuss the possibility of renewing the sport sharing agreement with Burlington and maybe even lowering property taxes.
The West Burlington School Board will be making a decision at next month’s board meeting to decide whether or not to continue the football sharing agreement with Notre Dame. The school board will be holding a public input session scheduled for November 2nd, this schedule is not yet finalized.
The public input session will include information on the history of the sharing agreement, an overview of the pros and cons of the agreement and then the public will have an opportunity to voice their opinion and concerns. This session will be open to both Burlington and West Burlington residents.
Superintendent Dave Schmitt discussed with the school board members the possibility of holding a special election in February for a Voted Physical Plant and Equipment levy. Schmitt is working on a plan that would ask for $1.10 additional property taxe from West Burlington residents, then provide a $2.22 per $1,000 valuation . This would reduce the current levy of $16.21 to $15.00.
The school board members agreed this was a good direction to take, School Board President, Dan Hockett explains:
“There was a cry out there from our citizens, they want tax relief. And I think, this is a great way to do it for them. If they would give us the flexibility of the PPEL, which allows us more flexibility on funding things, then we can make some cuts in some of those less flexible funds to make up for it , so overall their bill will go down.”
Schmitt says that the reason property taxes may go down is due to the open-enrollment which is now at a total of 467 students:
“Our cash balance continues to be very strong, our spending authority continues to be very strong, and a big reason for that is open enrollment. Open enrollment and reducing the levy work hand in hand. If we put a serious cap on open-enrollment then the levy goes up. But the more open enrollment increases, the farther down you can push that levy, so they work hand in hand.”
The VPPEL monies would be used for technology, vehicles, as well as facility improvements. $1.10 per $1,000 VPPEL would generate an estimated $165,000 annually for the next ten-years.
The School board approved the dance team trip to Monmouth and the Marching band is getting new uniforms. Band Director Mark Eveleth said the current uniforms are 20 years old and a kelly green, he would like to see a more updated look. The uniforms are $450 a piece, the board approved purchasing up to 70 pieces. The music boosters will cover 30 percent of that bill. Mark gave thanks to the music boosters for all their efforts in raising the money to make this possible.
