LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Opponents of the Jefferson County Board of Education’s push to raise property taxes are beginning to organize in hopes of blocking the increase amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Jefferson County Public Schools has advertised a rate increase of up to 8 cents per $100 of assessed property value, which would add $80 on yearly property tax bills for those who own homes worth $100,000, ahead of a May 21 hearing.
School districts can set rates that increase property tax revenues by 4% each year without triggering a possible referendum, but upping the rate by 8 cents would yield about 12% more for JCPS in property tax receipts based on projections.
The district budgeted for $469.8 million from property taxes in the current school year and estimated in recent presentations that an 8-cent rate increase would increase revenue by $58.9 million.
Such an uptick runs the risk of a voter referendum in the fall elections. Theresa Camoriano, president of the Louisville Tea Party, said a group is forming to challenge the increase and has already reserved the website domain NoJCPSTaxHike.com to collect signatures electronically once the board votes on a tax rate later this month.
Raising property taxes with the U.S. staring down an economic recession during the COVID-19 pandemic “is just outrageous,” she said.
“This is absolutely the worst time to raise anybody's taxes,” Camoriano said, adding that current per-pupil spending could cover tuition at many private schools. “People are suffering financially from the (COVID-19) shutdowns. They're struggling.”
Opponents of a JCPS tax increase will need to obtain signatures from 35,615 registered voters in the taxing area within 50 days of the public hearing to put a referendum on ballots this fall. Camoriano said a five-member committee that’s yet to be named will be in charge of the effort.
“We're going to have our work cut out for us,” she said of gathering the required signatures.
While Camoriano has heard much consternation about the prospect of higher property tax bills, one board member who has continually supported raising tax revenue has heard little opposition.
James Craig, who represents District 3, says he has received messages from many who back a tax increase by JCPS.
“I’ve got letters here on the floor in my bedroom in support of this right now,” he said. “How many emails, how many letters have I received in opposition to this proposed tax increase? Fewer than five.”
By comparison, Craig estimated that he received hundreds of messages from those against his vote that removed the few remaining school resource officers from JCPS at the start of the 2019-20 school year. Louisville Metro Police officers had already been axed as SROs in city budget cuts.
“I believe that this community is fully in support of funding the public schools,” he said. “… We have been underfunding Jefferson County Public Schools for the last 40 years.”
JCPS leaders have lamented the district’s more than $1 billion in unmet facility needs in recent years.
If 25% of the proceeds from an 8-cent rate increase were reserved for construction and renovation, the district’s bonding capacity would grow by $562.2 million, according to a May 4 presentation from JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio.
Board members have also compared the district’s property tax rate to neighboring school system. The 73.6 cents per $100 of assessed property value levied by JCPS is the 46th highest among the state’s 172 school districts.
Craig noted that even with a 4% property tax revenue increase factored in, the district's tentative budget estimates other funding sources for the 2020-21 school year will fall by more than $22 million in the economic downturn. Of that, $15.3 million is attributed to declines in occupational tax receipts for JCPS, according to a copy of the budget that board members will review at a meeting Tuesday.
“We’re lower than Oldham County,” Craig said of property tax rates. “We’re a full quarter lower than Anchorage. We’re approximately 8 cents less than Lexington. We have more than twice as many students as any of those other districts, and the needs of our students are significantly higher than any of our peer districts.”
The board will also get help garnering public support for the initiative. Consulting firm Osborne & Associates, based in Danville, won a contract with JCPS worth up to $575,000 to handle public relations on the push for higher taxes.
But in Camoriano’s view, JCPS needs to find better ways to spend its $1.8 billion budget to meet the needs of its nearly 99,000 students.
She fears that by raising property tax rates, JCPS will drive people away from living in Louisville.
“If you can't educate these children for the amount of money that they're getting already, something is wrong,” she said.
Correction: A previous version of this story identified Osborne & Associates as a Virginia-based company. Its principal location is Danville.
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