CLAREMONT — Taxpayers can expect to see an increase in the school tax rate of as much as 9% when the state Department of Revenue Administration sets the tax rate later this fall, SAU 6 interim business administrator Matt Angell told the School Board Wednesday.
Angell projected the combined school tax rate increase, local and state, at between 98 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation and $1.48, depending on the final special education aid figure.
Angell said he has asked the Department of Education to verify his number of $1.1 million in special education aid, which is more than a 100% increase from last year.
“Last year it was $479,000 so I asked (DOE) why did it double and are you OK with that,” Angell said during a Wednesday School Board meeting.
Based on the Angell’s estimates, annual school taxes could increase as much as $370 on a property assessed at $250,000.
School Board Vice Chairman Mike Petrin emphasized that the tax increase is not to cover any portion of the $5 million deficit, which Angell said he is trying to reduce to $1.9 million by the end of the current fiscal year on June 30.
Angell also provided a brief update on revenues and expenses for the remainder of the year, but did not go into detail nor did he comment on what the district might do if the state does not approve the request to borrow money against future state aid to help with the current cash flow.
On Tuesday, the Senate Education Committee delayed a decision, likely until January, to approve a revolving loan fund. District officials had sought state support to alleviate its cash crunch.
Next spring is when the district will face tough decisions, Angell has said, as it pays back a short term bank loan of $4 million, while meeting other obligations and preparing teacher contracts for next year.
“There is a lot of work to do to clean this up,” Angell said.