Board will not defer $600K to city

The Waynesboro School Board rejected Thursday a proposal to defer $600,000 in city money in next year’s school budget.

Vice Mayor Frank Lucente proposed the move in hopes of using the savings to cover a budget gap that would be created by lowering the city’s property tax rate.

Under an annual agreement with the city, the Waynesboro Schools receive 42.5 percent of a share of city revenue from real estate, personal property and sales taxes, as well as other discretionary money.

“We’ve earned it under the terms of the agreement,” School Board Vice Chairman Jeremy Taylor said. “It’s been a bad year and we’ve been through three to four rounds of budget cuts.”

Lucente had hoped to cut the city property tax rate from 70 cents to 67 cents per $100 of assessed value. Otherwise, Lucente contends, the city’s reassessment at the current tax rate would impose a 6.2 percent tax increase. The tax bill on a home valued at the median of roughly $207,000 would increase by $72.

But, school board member Brian Edwards said, “I don’t think a tax cut should be funded on the backs of students.”

Two City Council members who attended Thursday’s meeting oppose the tax cut in the tax rate and said the school board had acted appropriately.

“I’m not in favor of deferring money to us to lower the tax rate. It would put a hole in city services,” City Councilwoman Lorie Smith said.

Lucente said the possible deferrment of the $600,000 by the school division is now a moot point with Smith, Councilwoman Nancy Dowdy and Mayor Tim Williams, all supporting a 70-cent tax rate.

“Since it looks like the council is at a 70-cent rate, we don’t need it, because we’re going to have the money with the tax increase to take care of the budget,” Lucente said. The school board approved using federal stimulus money to pay for $200,000 in costs in next year’s budget.

Superintendent Robin Crowder said that savings will be used to pay the city for debt on the Kate Collins Middle School renovation project. The payment is likely to be made in January.

Crowder said the school district has for the past few years used $200,000 from an end-of-year surplus to pay the city on the Kate Collins project, provided the money was there. Thursday’s action reinforces that agreement.

Dowdy said she applauded the school board’s use of stimulus money.

“They are using the stimulus money in the spirit it was intended,” she said.