by Bill Zopf, School Board President & Dr. Jean Parr, Superintendent
I appreciate the many positive comments I received in response to last month’s column. Many people have expressed an interest in hearing more about events within the schools, so I have asked Dr. Jean Parr, the superintendent of schools, to co-author the column. As the lead administrator of the district, she offers a great second perspective. This month we’ll touch on two topics that may not seem connected at first, but that are actually both essential items for a healthy school district: school taxes and program initiatives.
Demystifying the Complexities of School Tax Estimates
By the time you read this column, school tax bills will have been mailed. Property taxes are a mixed blessing. No one wants to pay them but they help fund public education, an essential part of our society.
School taxes are estimated as part of the budget process. First the district decides how much money it will need in order to achieve its goals and objectives for the coming school year. It then estimates how much money it will receive in aid from the state and federal governments and from other non-property tax sources. The difference between these two figures becomes the tax levy – the amount to be collected in property tax.
In years when the state budget isn’t approved on time, the actual amount of state aid won’t be known until after the school budget has been put before district voters. When this happens (and it happens far too often), the district must estimate the aid it expects to receive based on preliminary information. This is very difficult to do. Even in years when the state budget has been approved on time, the district’s estimate may be accurate but may ultimately be wrong because the state aid is not yet finalized.
Everyone wants to know how much they will pay in taxes if the budget passes. The school district determines the tax rate by dividing the tax levy among the three taxing municipalities in the school district (City of Beacon, Town of Wappinger, and Town of Fishkill) based on assessed and market values of the properties in each municipality. Each municipality assesses differently, so properties in different municipalities with the same market value may have different assessed values and are therefore taxed differently. To correct this, the state calculates an equalization rate for each taxing municipality and the school district uses this rate to determine the municipalities’ market values. This presents some problems. At the time of the budget vote, the assessment of each taxing municipality hasn’t been finalized and the state equalization rates are also preliminary. This means the school district is making an educated guess about the tax rate prior to the budget vote and determining the actual tax rate after the budget vote. This is unfortunate, but it is how the various school district, state and local municipal deadlines are configured.
When the Beacon school board presented the budget to the public, it estimated the district-wide tax levy would increase 4.14% over the current year tax levy. It also estimated—based on experience in recent years—that total district assessments would increase, meaning the tax rate increase as a district average could be 1 to 2 percentage points less than the tax levy.
The actual district-wide tax levy increase is 4.14%, as shown on the tax bills. The actual district wide tax rate increase is 2.92%. Both of these figures match the estimates given in June. However, the state determined that the difference between the market value and the assessed value of property for Beacon increased more than for Fishkill and Wappinger, thus decreasing Beacon's equalization rate by a larger percentage. Beacon’s equalization rate changed from 33.39 to 28, a 19.25% decrease, Fishkill’s went from 49 to 44.5, an 11.22% change and Wappinger’s changed from 39.5 to 35, an 11.39% change. Beacon’s equalization rate decrease coupled with Fishkill’s total assessed value increase caused a larger portion of the total tax levy to be assigned to Beacon. This increased the tax rate in Beacon by 5.88%, while Fishkill’s tax rate decreased by 2.67% and Wappinger’s tax rate decreased by 0.21%.
The school district business office did an accurate job of estimating our state aid revenue, the tax levy and the district-wide tax rate. The unpredictability of the final assessment figures and equalization rates makes it more difficult to estimate the tax rate by municipality. I hope this explanation gives everyone a better understanding of the complexities of predicting tax rates based on estimated figures.
School Improvements: Inside and Out
Whenever physical improvements are made to a school facility, improvements to the climate and culture of that space seem to be a natural and necessary next step. Last year, as we planned for the completion of the Rombout Middle School building project, we also began discussing ways to improve the climate and culture of the new Rombout. We began by performing a needs assessment that examined many facets of the middle school community. Based upon that assessment, the district developed a program called Rombout C.A.R.E.S. (Children Are Respectful, Educated and Successful), and through grant funding, employed consultant Dr. David Levine. Dr. Levine has worked with school systems in the United States and abroad since 1984, and will assist us in creating an emotionally safe school where all people have a sense of place and purpose. Dr. Levine has authored numerous books, including Building Classroom Communities, Teaching Empathy and the recently released School of Belonging Teacher Plan Book. Last year, Dr. Levine met with students, teachers and administrators to help us design our long-range plan for Rombout with future expansion into the Elementary and High Schools.
Just as reading and writing are essential skills for leading a productive life, so too are conflict resolution skills. Young people need to be able to communicate effectively, appreciate the consequences of their actions, generate and evaluate alternative solutions to problems, and co-exist with people with whom they disagree. Peer mediation teaches these fundamental skills and attitudes to both mediators and parties. The present peer mediation program at the middle school will be aligned with the work of Dr. Levine.
Another component of this new program is the addition of a School Resource Officer (SRO) at the Middle and High Schools. The school district developed and presented a SRO proposal to the City Council for consideration last year. We are pleased to announce that this year the City Council has agreed to assign a police officer to the Beacon City School District. Our SRO comes to us through a collaboration with the Beacon City Council, Beacon City Police Department and the Beacon City Schools. The new SRO will be a resource and mentor to the students. By acting as advocate, role model and friend, the SRO will help students develop the awareness, self-confidence and skills they need to resist drugs and overcome obstacles. The officer will participate in a series of trainings with school district personnel over the next several months and then become part of our school program in January.
We believe that the addition of Rombout C.A.R.E.S., the School Resource Officer and alignment of these initiatives with our present Peer Mediation Program will further support our students’ academic program by creating a positive learning environment for success now and in future endeavors.
If you have any suggestions for future columns you may e-mail Bill Zopf at [email protected].
I would like to know why you allowed the unions to dictate a contract that grants wage increases far exceeding that which people in the private sector receive - that is if they receive any wage increase at all. In addition, we in the private sector have to pay more each year into our benefits and in particular our health plans. Obviously you do not think that teachers should contribute on the same level and somehow should be granted some special status. How dare you allow the teachers to get away without paying more for their benefits while they are enjoying wage increases that are far out of line with what those of us in the private sector receive. Are you so intimated by the unions that you cannot stand up to them? Or is it that you follow the line of the teachers unions and that the taxpayer should be taxed until he has to sell his house and it is just simply tough if he cannot afford the taxes but it is ok as long as the teachers unions get what they want? You should be ashamed of yourselves. It is obvious that you are more concerned with representing the teachers unions and could not care less about the overburdened taxpayer whom you supposedly represent.
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