Property taxes, new middle school in west Louisville on agenda for JCPS board meeting

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Property taxes are on the agenda for the JCPS school board meeting Tuesday night.

While the board is expected to approve a lower tax rate, the amount depends on your most recent property assessment.

A majority of properties in Jefferson County were assessed at a higher value this year. State law only allows the district to increase its total revenue by four percent. That's why the JCPS treasurer believes it can lower the tax rate from 76 cents per $100 of assessed value to 73.5 cents per $100, and still comply with the four percent cap.

The new rate is still estimated to bring in the $31 million the district needs for employee raises, curriculum and facilities projects, including construction of a new building for Hudson Middle School at 18th and West Broadway that's expected to cost between $50-$60 million.

New middle school

The land was donated to JCPS earlier this year to build the new school. Also on Tuesday's agenda: approving an engineer for the project.

Molina Healthcare, the Long Beach, California health insurer, bought and donated the 20-acre site to JCPS earlier this year.

JCPS officials have said they plan to add a new campus and district offices on the plot of land that's been vacant for years. The school will be the first middle or high school construction in west Louisville since the 1950s.

Hudson Middle students are currently attending classes in the former Whitney Young building on Muhammad Ali because of space constraints. Whitney Young students are in a temporary space on 17th Street.

Molina officials have said they plan to build a healthcare and community center on the land as well. The company plans to open a "one stop help center" -- its first in Louisville -- and eventually move it into the new JCPS-led development.

JCPS officials hope to break ground on the school later this fall and finish construction of the school by 2026, Superintendent Marty Pollio said in previous WDRB reporting.

The board will discuss that project, as well as the adjusted tax rates, at Tuesday's board meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. at the VanHoose Education Center.

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