The public has one last chance to voice opinions on the 2018-19 operating levy for Fulton Public Schools.
The FPS Board of Education will meet 6 p.m. tonight at the board of education office for a public hearing and a vote to set the levy. School administrators propose setting it at $4.0083 per $100 of assessed valuation, up from $3.3250 in 2017.
On Aug. 7, voters within the school district voted to raise the district's tax ceiling to $3.8948. Superintendent Jacque Cowherd said the $4.0083 amount is based on calculations the district must use every year to determine the levy ceiling.
"What I want the folks to know is that we follow the state auditor's format," Cowherd said. "Tax rates are always adjusted annually per your assessed valuation. The tax levy increase set us a new base for us to run our calculations from."
These calculations are somewhat complex and will likely be discussed in further detail at the meeting, but here are the basics. Each year, the tax levy ceiling is adjusted based on several factors, including the voter-set levy ceiling, the assessed valuation of properties within the districts and the amount of additional revenue districts are allowed to receive each year.
When 2017's operating levy was initially set, overall assessed property values within the district were calculated at $207.1 million. By the end of the year, though, that figure had been revised to $211.8 million.
This year, the assessed valuation for properties is about $210.6 million, a decrease from the previous year. To keep the district from losing revenue, the board is allowed to set the operating levy a little higher.
As the state auditor's tax documentation explains, Missouri law "allows taxing authorities to levy a rate that is (greater than) the increase improved by voters in order to generate substantially the same revenue that would have been generated by applying the voter approved increase to the total assessed valuation at the time of the voter approval."
"This year's valuation is actually lower, which forces the levy up," Cowherd said. "The (voted-upon tax ceiling) is the starting point."
He added he expects the school board to pass the proposed operating levy, as an operating levy needs to be set by Friday.
"I have no reason to think they won't," he said. "They've had this information for a week or so."
The special meeting will also address two additional items. Board of education members will decide whether to authorize the redemption of refunding bonds for fiscal year 2019.
They will also discuss and vote on proposed fiscal year 2019 budget amendments. Thanks to the passing of Proposition K and other factors, the 2018-19 operating fund budget has shifted from a deficit balance to a positive balance of $90,383 and the debt service balance is being reduced, saving on interest costs, the board packet states.