Maximum tax

If the Lawrence school board is going to max out the district's budget authority, it needs to fully justify that move to local taxpayers.

As much as Lawrence supports its public schools, a school district budget that raises local property taxes by 6.437 mills may be giving some local residents pause.

The increase is especially notable because of the efforts of city and county officials to hold the line on property taxes. The Douglas County Commission is proposing a budget that calls for a small decline in property taxes, and Lawrence city commissioners trimmed a much-needed street maintenance allocation in order to hold property taxes stable.

A mill represents a $1 tax on every $1,000 of property valuation, and local officials accurately point out that even if the mill levy holds steady, most local residents will pay higher taxes next year because the value of their property has gone up.

Graphs prepared by local district officials show that Lawrence’s school mill levy is about in the middle of a selected group of school districts that have experienced significant growth since 1990. Gardner-Edgerton, De Soto and Olathe are at the top end with mill levies ranging from the upper 70s to upper 80s. At the low end are Osage City, Garden City and Sedgwick County with levies around 40 mills. With a 6.4-mill increase, Lawrence’s levy would be about 58.5 mills.

The 6.437-mill increase would be the maximum the Lawrence district could levy under state law. It would provide a budget that adds 1 to 2 mills for capital projects, raises the local option budget portion of the district’s general fund from 27 percent to 30 percent and takes advantage of a cost-of-living provision that gives certain districts additional budget authority because their housing costs are higher.

“These are the tools the Legislature has given us,” board member Craig Grant said at Monday’s meeting. “I say we use them.”

If all of the budget authority is essential the public probably would agree, but board members shouldn’t take full advantage of that authority just because they can. District facilities need to be maintained, and the Lawrence district needs to offer teacher salaries that are competitive with other districts in the area, but board members owe it to local taxpayers to fully justify why all of a 6.4-mill increase is needed and exactly how it will be used.

It’s also the responsibility of taxpayers to demand accountability and to voice their opinion about possible budget increases. No one questioned the budget at Monday’s meeting, but district patrons will have another opportunity Aug. 28. The budget that has been approved for publication can’t be increased, but it could be decreased if public comments sway the school board.

Providing a top-notch education for our children is a high priority for this community, and it’s hard to weigh school needs against city and county needs. However, if the school district could find enough economies to trim 1 mill from its budget and city commissioners used that opportunity to put another 1 mill toward street maintenance, a fair number of local taxpayers probably would think it was a good trade.

Comparing Lawrence to other districts that have grown significantly in the last 16 years may be valid, but local enrollment growth has slowed dramatically in the last few years. Board members may still think Lawrence needs to make use of every financial opportunity available to it to support local schools, but if that’s the case, they need to show taxpayers that every cent of that increase is necessary.