{"id":80644,"date":"2024-09-10T09:40:17","date_gmt":"2024-09-10T14:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=80644"},"modified":"2024-09-10T09:40:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-10T14:40:18","slug":"boe-votes-to-exceed-revenue-neutral-tax-rate-for-24-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=80644","title":{"rendered":"BOE votes to exceed Revenue Neutral Tax rate for ’24-25"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By ALICIA FEYERHERM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tiger Media Network<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monday\u2019s USD 489 Board of Education meeting started off with a rate hearing. The board voted on a resolution expressing the property taxation policy of USD 489 Hays with respect to exceeding the Revenue Neutral Tax Rate for financing the annual budget for 2024-2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citizen John Pyle spoke against the increase during the hearing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Pyle, in 2020, his property taxes were $3,924. In 2023, he paid $5,494 in property taxes. Pyle asked the board if they have ever discussed reducing costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs taxing entities, there is no incentive to reduce expenses,\u201d Pyle said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Board Member Derek Yarmer was opposed to the motion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are not trying to make cuts, we are not trying to be good stewards of the money, so therefore I don\u2019t believe we deserve more of it,\u201d Yarmer said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Board Member Jayme Goetz said she supports the increase because those funds are invested back into the classroom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do not see this as a raise,\u201d Goetz said. \u201cI see it as keeping up with needs that our students need for their education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a former Hays High math teacher, Goetz said one large expense was graphing calculators. Not all students can afford a $150 graphing calculator, so each math class has a classroom set so that no student falls behind in instruction. Teachers take those purchases very seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTeachers should be looking at the cheapest options, and I assure you that they do,\u201d Goetz said. \u201cI have spent hours pouring over Amazon and these catalogs and going to Walmart to see if I can get the best deal.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goetz also said that teachers decorate their rooms out of their own pockets and, on occasion, will even buy food for students themselves. While she understands looking through the budget is important, she said it\u2019s important to approach those conversations carefully. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do not want one student to feel like it is too expensive to bring them an education,\u201d Goetz said. \u201cI could go on about this for hours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Board member Ruth Ruder said in July of 2024, Gov. Laura Kelly raised the property tax exemption for school funding from $42,000 to $75,000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a $33,000 difference that education does not receive,\u201d Ruder said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruder also said the board should be fighting to receive more special education funding from the state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe deserve those funds in our system to reduce the funding that we have to allocate aside,\u201d Ruder said. \u201cWe are required by law to fund that program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting more funding is going to be a priority for Ruder for the rest of her term. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to fight like hell my next three years while I\u2019m here to get to legislation, to get our 92 percent requirement that we are entitled to in our school district and our school systems,\u201d Ruder said. \u201cI will fight for this community to get that. \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruder said she\u2019s already scheduled to go to Washington, D.C., to talk about this issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re punishing their kids because we aren\u2019t fighting hard enough as citizens at the state level,\u201d Ruder said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Board member Allen Park agreed the board could advocate for more support, but said there is also more that could be done locally within the school budget. Park pointed out that in the capital outlay there are a lot of capital improvement projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve just been grabbing as much money as we can and it looks like we\u2019re spending it as fast as we can get it,\u201d Park said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the bus barn downtown is undergoing improvement. After the bond passes, both the high school and middle school will be on the same campus and so the busses will have to drive to and from that location. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s wasting money,\u201d Park said. \u201cWe ought to find a better way to save the time that they drive plus the mileage that they drive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Board member Meagan Zampierri-Lillpop supports the increase and the proposed budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI come from a very, very poor place, so when I get my tax statements, I feel privileged that I have property,\u201d Zampierri-Lillpop said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zampierri-Lillpop feels the district has done well with funds they have been provided. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cI know that we have been responsible,\u201d Zampierri-Lillpop said. \u201cI know that to continue to be responsible, we need to make sure that we are keeping our teachers here and keeping our buildings in the right condition and that we are allocating the resources to out kids that they are going to need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only has the district\u2019s insurance deductible doubled this year from $25,000 to $50,000 but inflation has led to increased costs at every level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI looked through this budget over and over and over and over and over and everything that I looked at, I couldn\u2019t find anything where we could really cut,\u201d Ruder said. \u201cThe budget is what it is. It\u2019s set. It\u2019s done. We have to move on and find those cuts moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resolution passed 5-2 with Yarmer and Park voting against. The two also voted against the district budget. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other meeting items included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n