Williamson Schools Budget Pared As Commissioners Fight Off Tax Increase

FRANKLIN, TN — In an effort to ward off a property tax increase, Williamson County Commissioners proposed cutting $5 million from the schools budget, a move Director of Schools Mike Looney told The Tennessean would be "tragic."

At a Thursday meeting, the commission's budget committee proposed a 1.46 percent cut to the schools budget. Fully funding the submitted $343 million schools budget would require an 8 cent property tax increase barring other cuts elsewhere. The commission raised the property tax last year.

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"As a community, we have to decide what our priority is," Looney told The Tennessean. "We can't fund our school system with pennies."

Originally, the committee called for an $8 million cut, but held off because State Rep. Charles Sargent may be able to secure $2.5 million in state growth funds, the newspaper reports.

Looney, who said he is a conservative who supports lower taxes, nevertheless argued that fending off tax increases isn't the be-all-end-all of conservative governance.

A Facebook group — "Fund Our Schools" — formed a month ago in an effort to show that taxpayers are willing to shoulder an extra burden has 1,000 members.

Image via WCS