December marks tax levy time for the local school districts. United Superintendent Jeff Whitsitt says it is a good time financially for United as the board has approved their tax levy:
“We are requesting about 7.5% more than we got last year. There is a mathematical game to that. Asking for that, our tax rate will likely go down at that ask because we are seeing a considerable gain in EAV again this year. We have been on that track here for the last couple of years and with the increase we are going to see in our EAV, we were able to ask for what we got last year, plus a little bit more. We don’t expect to get it all. I say that every year too. We don’t expect to get every penny of what we ask for. We buffer that a little bit just to make sure. In reality what we are asking for, I can’t do the math and figure out a way that our rate will go up. Doesn’t mean we will pay less necessarily, but we are in a good spot. We had a really good year financially.”
Superintendent Whitsitt reports the United school district has benefitted from two things; the fact that EAV has increased at the rate it has and steady state funding.
