No one showed up to speak or ask questions at the Clark County Board of Education public tax hearing Tuesday. 

Following the hearing, Board Chair Gordon Parido motioned to adopt a 4-percent tax increase for the 2019-20 fiscal year based on Supt. Paul Christy’s recommendation.

The increase would create the following tax rates: real estate at 63.7 cents, which is up from the 62.2 cents the board approved the past two years, per $100 of assessed value; personal property at 63.7 cents, motor vehicles at 53.5 cents; and a utility tax rate of 3 percent. The 63.7 cents includes a .1 percent exoneration.

When the motion opened for discussion, board member Scott Hisle suggested going beyond the 4 percent for the personal property tax rate.

“Last year, I made a proposal that didn’t go any further because we didn’t get a second to go ahead and adopt the 4 percent rate on the personal property tax, that’s typically a tax that’s paid by businesses,” Hisle said. “One of the changes in the law in the past couple of years, businesses that paid personal property taxes on their inventory, they’re able to now deduct 25 percent of that tax last year, and that’s phased in this year’s 50 percent, and it’s going to be a complete phase in of the property taxes that are paid on inventory items.

“I would like to give consideration to splitting out the proposal and recouping the 1.5 percent of personal tax increase that we didn’t move forward on last year and adding it to this last year, and that would result in a personal tax rate of 65.2 cents which would generate about $51,000 in additional revenue. 

“And I fully realize that is recallable, but I think that considering the position we are in, it’s something we could at least give some consideration to. I certainly have a lot of concerns on the real estate rates because of people on fixed incomes and people with limited incomes, that impacts them fairly hard, but because of the deductibility of personal taxes for a lot of those taxpayers, I would like for us to at least kick around the idea of going beyond 4 percent on the personal tax side.”

No board member commented or continued discussion following Hisle’s suggestion; instead Parido called for a vote on the original motion of increasing the tax rate by 4 percent. 

The board approved the motion 4-1; Hisle opposed.

Christy also recognized food service managers in the district as well as Alison Esler, a bus driver of about 37 years, 15 of which were with Clark County Public Schools. Esler drove the Book Bus this summer. Esler set a new record, Christy said, delivering 1,596 books for the summer.

“She set not only a daily record but that also put her over the level for the most books given out in any summer that we’ve been doing this,” Christy said. 

Christy also updated the board on the opening week of school.

“We had an amazingly smooth start to school again this year,” he said. “This is the first year I can remember not having multiple late buses so that goes to show the work put in by the transportation department and the planning for these.”

Christy said the enrollment is up 140 new students that have never been enrolled in Clark County before.

“We’ve enrolled students from every county that touches us, all the way around us,” Christy said.

Christy said he credits the higher enrollment to many of the improvements the school board and the district have made in previous years such as eliminating various fees and adding free breakfast.

“A few years ago, I was standing in Walmart in line behind a lady that I saw spending $130 on school supplies, and I felt terrible,” Christy said. “This year, the night before school started, I was walking through Walmart, and it was funny because a little kid was standing, looking at some pencils and markers and the mom said, ‘No, come on, you don’t need those, the school buys those for you. We’re going to go get you a backpack and some new shorts and a shirt.’ I wanted to say thank you. That’s what this is about. I think that’s made a difference.”

Christy said he also credits an uptick in enrollment in preschool because surrounding counties have dropped their programs to half-day whereas Clark County has maintained its full-day program.

Christy said enrollment is only going to continue to go up, but at the present, because of enrollment being up, the district is adding several growth teachers in various schools. The preschool is even adding a second mobile classroom, which Bluegrass Children’s Council will fund. 

Special education enrollment is also up from 754 last year to 823 students this year across the district. The limited English or non-English speaking student enrollment is up from 167 last year to 221 this year. Migrant student enrollment is also up from 64 students last year to 95 this year. 

Christy said he doesn’t see any of these numbers slowing soon. 

The district also only has one more school resource officer to hire; once that position is filled, Christy said that would put an SRO at every school and two at the high school. 

The board also had a lengthy discussion about a status update of athletic construction projects. Christy gave the board a summary of money spent and money left involved in the projects. Board members asked several questions regarding equipment needs, parking and if the field was going to be ready by the first home game of the football season.

John Hagan Codell of Codell Construction told the board the field is expected to be ready for the George Rogers Clark High School football team’s first game.

“We feel comfortable that we will be ready,” Codell said. 

In other action, the board:

— approved KDE grant assurances

— approved to amend procedure 09.33 AP .2 Booster/Support Club agreement

— approved to amend board procedure 03.123 AP .2 

— approved first reading of new policy 08.1132

— approved new procedure 08.1132 AP.21

— approved 2019-2020 KVC Behavioral HealthCare KY Memorandum of Agreement 

— approved pay application 20 to Codell Construction, contractors and suppliers for the GRC gymnasium and athletic fields project (BG 16-238) for $1,251,879.16.