ASHLAND —
Ashland residents are getting a bit of sticker shock as they open their property tax bills this week.
The bills are higher, in part because the Ashland Board of Education agreed earlier this year on a 4 percent rate increase, but also because of another increase that adds a nickel for every hundred dollars of assessed value.
The second increase is called the additional nickel tax and it can only be used for building improvements.
The owner of a house valued at $70,000 would pay $35 more per year for the tax.
The school board imposed the nickel increase in 2011. Voters could have shot it down but doing so would have required a petition drive to put the issue on the ballot, and that didn’t happen.
The 4 percent increase was not subject to voter approval and is not restricted to building improvement.
The nickel tax is expected to bring in about $450,000 per year, to which the state will add about $550,000. With that $1 million per year, the district can borrow about $14 million and move forward on an ambitious building plan.
At the top of the building priority list is a complete renovation of Verity Middle School. Verity now houses seventh and eighth grades and the renovation will add a sixth-grade center.
The property tax hike replaces dwindling support from the state, Superintendent Steve Gilmore said. He said in the five years he has been superintendent state funding has dropped roughly $250,000 per year.
“We’re doing more with diminishing funds. The philosophy in Frankfort is let the local communities pay for schools. We’re not getting a lot of help out of Frankfort,” he said.
By imposing the tax when it did, the board allowed the district to lock in the state match and favorable interest rates, Gilmore said.
Besides Verity, the money is needed to upgrade the five elementary schools and finish renovations at Paul G. Blazer High.
Improving schools improves the community and makes it more attractive as a business location. “As mayor I found that the very first thing business prospects ask is about the schools,” Gilmore said.
MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or
(606) 326-2652.
Local News
Bills showing school taxes
- Local News
-
-
Fun with paint after a hard week
After a week of state testing, one local elementary rewarded their fifth graders with a surprise visit from the Pottery Place. Oakview Elementary students were able to design and paint a ceramic tile with the help of instructors.
-
Work on Judd Plaza flagpole base begins
A group of third generation bricklayers is more than willing to give back to the Ashland community this week.
-
Ashland man arrested on heroin charges
An Ashland man was arrested Monday night on charges of trafficking in heroin, according to a release from the Ashland Police Department.
-
Crews dig through night after deadly Okla. twister
Spotlights bore down on massive piles of shredded cinder block, insulation and metal as crews worked through the night lifting bricks and parts of collapsed walls where a monstrous tornado barreled through the Oklahoma City suburbs, demolishing an elementary school and reducing homes to piles of splintered wood. At least 51 people were killed, including at least 20 children, and those numbers were expected to climb, officials said Tuesday.
-
Principal's demotion hearing to be public
An appeal hearing for demoted Wurtland Elementary School principal Barbara Cook will be open to the public at Cook’s request.
-
AT&T to hire 140 workers at East Park
For the next few months, AT&T officials have announced they will hire 20 people per month until they have filled 140 customer-service positions at the East Park Call Center in the industrial park between Grayson and Ashland.
-
Boards close to agreement on students
The Greenup and Russell school districts are close to an agreement on families that want to send their children to school out of their own district.
-
Memory Days to start Thursday
Memory Days volunteers invite everyone to “Come to Grayson to remember and be remembered,” during this year’s 43rd annual festival Thursday through Sunday.
-
Man arrested for using forged checks
The following information was taken from Ashland Police Department reports:
-
What's happening: 5/21/13
Cruzin on the Plaza will be Friday through Sunday at Pullman Plaza.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Fun with paint after a hard week
Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Accounting
AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out
Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
OKC Hospital Describes Treating Tornado Wounded
Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
