School tax rate down, homeowner cost up

School tax rate down, homeowner cost up

BY SEAN KINNEY

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

The Monroe County School Board on July 22 got a first look at the schools spending plan for the 2014-15 fiscal year that begins on July 1.

Although the tax rate as proposed by Executive Director of Finance and Performance Jim Drake is slightly lower than the rate for the previous budget year, growth in countywide property value will result in an increase in school tax.

The board’s first budget meeting is set for 3 p.m. on July 29 at district headquarters on Trumbo Point in Key West.

At that point the board will set a maximum millage (tax) rate, which can be lowered but not raised.

The next budget meeting is Aug. 27 at Marathon Middle/High School, followed on Sept. 9 by final approval at Coral Shores High School in Tavernier.

Board member John Dick said he didn’t foresee any major budget battles as the document moves toward finalization.

“We’ll continue to discuss everything,” he said, but for now, “Everyone seems happy.”

Superintendent Mark Porter and Drake have called this a “good news” budget.

The property tax rate for the current year is $3.68 per $1,000 of assessed home value. That means the owner of a $300,000 home paid $1,104.

According to the Monroe County Property Appraiser’s Office, countywide property value has increased 6.98 percent.

That means the same homeowner’s house, for purposes of property taxes, is now worth $320,940.

Applying the proposed tax rate of $3.63 per $1,000 of assessed home value, the new schools tax bill will be $1,165.

Coupled with state funds and grant dollars, the proposed tax rate supports an $88,861,380 operating budget with balanced revenues and expenditures.

That’s up from $85.5 million in the current year. Also included is a $10.3 million fund balance or savings account.

School Grades

Also at the July 22 meeting, board members instructed Porter to ensure improvement at two district schools–Gerald Adams Elementary School on Stock Island and Horace O’Bryant Middle School in Key West–in light of school grades released by the Florida Department of Education on July 11.

 

Those two schools received C letter grades from state regulators based on standardized test scores, learning gains and other student outcomes.

Poinciana Elementary in Key West and Sugarloaf School on Sugarloaf Key both received B ratings while the districts remaining seven public and charter non high schools, which are graded later in the year, scored As.

“We want the superintendent to come up with a plan to fix these schools,” Dick said.

He attributed the “brain drain” in Key West to Gerald Adams and HOB losing students to area public charter schools.

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