Millage Rates Unchanged

SCHOOL BOARD OKS PRELIMINARY 2013-14 BUDGET

— Millage rates for the Rogers School District will go unchanged after the School Board approved a preliminary 2013-2014 budget used to set the district’s tax levy.

Board members approved a $127.5 million preliminary budget with the bulk targeted for teacher salaries, instructional expenses and maintenance and operation expenses. The projection allows for the district’s millage request, but doesn’t itemize for the year. This year’s final budget will be complete in September.

“Those are big round numbers,” said Kathy Hanlon, treasurer.

Those budget numbers come with a caveat as the district will open an elementary school on Mount Hebron Road and possibly open a New Tech high school option, Hanlon told board members. Those changes wouldn’t necessarily indicate a tax increase, she said after the meeting.

“We just need to watch and to keep an eye on where we’re trending,” Hanlon said.

Administrators have not requested a millage increase since 2003, said David Cauldwell, Rogers business manager.

“The School District millage that we are setting to go on the ballot is the same millage that it has been,” Cauldwell said.

The district is requesting a rate of 38.4 mills for the Sept. 18 annual school election. Millage rates come before voters every year, even if no change is requested.

BY THE NUMBERS

Dollars, Cents

There are four parts to the 38.4-mill tax rate for the Rogers School District: 25 mills are for general maintenance and operation; 1.5 mills are for purchasing and maintaining technology equipment and computer software; 1 mill is for renovating and repairing facilities; and 10.9 mills are for debt service.

For every $100 in taxes:

  • $65.10 goes to general operation
  • $3.91 goes to technology
  • $2.60 goes to building repair
  • $28.39 goes to debt payments.

Source: Staff Report

Millages are figured off 20 percent of the appraised property value. A mill is one-tenth of a cent. Taxes for the Rogers School District from a home appraised at $200,000 would be $1,536.

Property tax combines mills for a resident’s school district, city and county and includes a 2.6-mill rate for NorthWest Arkansas Community College. Some Rogers homes are in the Bentonville School District and pay the millage set there.

Joye Kelley, board president, said she’s proud the district is able to live within taxes provided by its patrons.

“This all depends on growth,” Kelley said.

Taxes were rolled back when property values were increasing, Cauldwell said. Second liens have allowed administrators to build schools, including the one under construction on Mount Hebron Road, without raising taxes.

“We built more than what we had put in the millage campaign,” Cauldwell said.

Past assessment increases and refinancing bonds when favorable rates are available have helped the district, he said.

A board position will also be open on the September ballot. Kelley announced during the meeting wouldn’t file for re-election. Petitions to file for the position must be submitted to the Benton County Clerk by noon July 10.

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