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NORTH MANCHESTER - Manchester Community Schools proposed increases in school tax rates, acting superintendent Kim Thurston said Tuesday at the Manchester school board meeting.
The increase could be 7 cents to 15 cents above last year's rates.
The 2003 budget adoption will be at 7 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Maple Park Educational Center.
The school corporation will not know what the assessed valuation will be until next year, Thurston said.
"The uncertainty surrounding reassessment leaves many questions unanswered," he said. "These are issues facing public schools across the state of Indiana, not just Manchester Community Schools."
Since 1999, MCS' total tax rate has declined 89 cents. A tax increase of 69 cents over the 2002 rate would be less than the 1999 rate, Thurston said.
In another matter, the board unanimously voted to "unfreeze" the food service department employees' wages and to pay the premium for a health insurance plan.
The employees' new raises will increase 3 percent of the 1998-1999 pay rate. The raises are not retroactive, Thurston said.
Wages were frozen in the 1998-1999 school year due to financial difficulty, Thurston said. Since then, the department has recovered.
Thurston chalked up the recuperation to the employees' hard work and departmental leadership.
The food service department is independent of the school district's general fund, Thurston said.
"If that were not the case, it is unlikely we would be in a position to make this recommendation," he said.
