T/E School District to Explore New Tax Options

The T/E school board will have some tough questions to debate in the coming months and school years. At the top of the list: the choice between keeping or cutting programs and services or increasing taxes to pay for them.

Monday night the board approved a 3.77 percent tax increase. That works out to $171 for the average homeowner in the district. That will fund the programs and services the board wants for the 2011-2012 school year.

The district's fiscal outlook beyond the upcoming school year is bleak. Projections for the next several years show a rapidly growing deficit if there are no cuts in programs or increases in revenues. According to administration figures presented to the school board Monday night, the district's general fund which is $29 million in the black now will be over $22 million in the red for the 2015-2016 school year if nothing changes.  Even that number may be optimistic because it assumes no pay increases for district employees after 2012-2013 school year.

Monday night's meeting concluded with a call for T/E district residents who want to take part in a panel that will look into the ramifications of imposing an earned income tax (EIT) on people who live or work in the district but who may not currently pay property taxes (e.g. renters and commuters who work in T/E).

Board President Karen Cruickshank told Patch that the panel will be charged with looking into what an EIT could mean for the district and the people who would pay it.  The panel will meet as many as eight times in the fall.

If you would like to be on the panel, you must live in the T/E School District. The deadline to apply is midnight on Wednesday, June 15th. You can find the application and information on the district's website by clicking here.