The Beaumont Independent School District is proposing a tax break for the 2012-2013 school year.
At
a special board meeting Thursday, Chief Financial Officer Robert
Zingleman presented trustees with a PowerPoint of the districts
proposed budget. I Included is a one cent tax decrease.
Zingleman says the tax decrease is possible because school property value is up.
The decrease means a home valued at $100,000 would see a $10 annual decrease.
"You'll
see districts have elections to raise taxes by 12 or 13 cents. Not only
are we not raising taxes, we're lowering them. That's significant in
the grand scheme of things," Superintendent Carroll Thomas said.
The school district also submitted it's 5 single, 2 at large redistricting map to the Justice Department Thursday.
In
a discussion with trustees, Attorney Melody Chappell says the only
issue is now is that if the new map is accepted then four trustees could
face each other. Chappell says the map puts Trustees Janice Broussard
and Tom Neild in the same district and Zenobia Bush and Terry Williams
in the same district.
The map could potentially force trustees
to run against one another. Chappell says potential solutions could be
having the entire board run for re-election, have run offs in those
districts, or have a trustee step down.
"The trustees did a very
good at choosing a map that represents the citizens. The trustees made
it clear that was their biggest concern," Chappell said.
Chappell
asked trustees to have a policy formulated for her by the next board
meeting. Trustees will also vote on the tax decrease at that meeting.
The meeting is scheduled for August 16th at the administration
building.
Trustees also voted unanimously on an agreement
concerning the timing of payment to Dr. Carroll Thomas for unused sick
leave compensation when he retires.
The agreement will put
Thomas' money in a tax sheltered annuity in two separate payments. The
district says he is not receiving anymore money than what was agreed on
when his contract was bought out in June.
