What about taxes?
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
"I would wish tomorrow's headlines would say, 'No New Taxes,'" Warsaw school board member Charles Sauders said at Thursday's meeting.
Several board members emphasized Thursday that the proposed building program can be done without raising area residents' property taxes.
How can they do that?
According to Rande Thorpe, WCS business manager, basically it could be done because "we have a lot of debt that has started to come off."
Eisenhower and Harrison elementaries were built in 1990-91, he said, and "we have the last payment on the elementary schools this year."
He said a new bond would probably be issued for any new building projects, "but it will simply fill that hole."
Because of state mandates, school corporations' finances are divided into funds. Money to build or renovate buildings comes out of the Capital Projects Fund, and money to pay off bonds come from the Debt Service Fund.
"It appears we could do every cotton-pickin' project and not increase the Capital Projects Fund or Debt Service (tax) rate," Thorpe said.
Individuals' property taxes may go up with reassessment and new assessment methods, he said, but it won't be because of WCS building projects.
Would taxes go down if no building projects were done?
"Yes, they could," Thorpe said, "in the short-term, but eventually you're going to have to do these things, and it's cheaper to do it now." [[In-content Ad]]
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"I would wish tomorrow's headlines would say, 'No New Taxes,'" Warsaw school board member Charles Sauders said at Thursday's meeting.
Several board members emphasized Thursday that the proposed building program can be done without raising area residents' property taxes.
How can they do that?
According to Rande Thorpe, WCS business manager, basically it could be done because "we have a lot of debt that has started to come off."
Eisenhower and Harrison elementaries were built in 1990-91, he said, and "we have the last payment on the elementary schools this year."
He said a new bond would probably be issued for any new building projects, "but it will simply fill that hole."
Because of state mandates, school corporations' finances are divided into funds. Money to build or renovate buildings comes out of the Capital Projects Fund, and money to pay off bonds come from the Debt Service Fund.
"It appears we could do every cotton-pickin' project and not increase the Capital Projects Fund or Debt Service (tax) rate," Thorpe said.
Individuals' property taxes may go up with reassessment and new assessment methods, he said, but it won't be because of WCS building projects.
Would taxes go down if no building projects were done?
"Yes, they could," Thorpe said, "in the short-term, but eventually you're going to have to do these things, and it's cheaper to do it now." [[In-content Ad]]