The new system allowed Belton to pass a tax rate that is 37 cents lower than last year. Even if appraisal values go up, taxpayers in the district are still expected to pay less in school taxes this year despite paying for a brand new elementary school.
“We’re happy to be able to approve a tax rate significantly lower than last year’s, which we trust will provide tax relief to our voters even in the face of increasing tax appraisals,” said Randy Pittenger, Belton school board president.
On Monday, Belton trustees approved a tax rate of $1.29 per $100 valuation and passed a total budget of $64.8 million. Under that rate a person with property valued at $100,000 would pay $1,290 in school district taxes. Last year’s rate was $1.66.
The cap on local school property taxes statewide has been lowered by almost a third from two years ago. In the past schools were capped at a $1.50 property tax rate per $100 valuation, and the way to increase funding and keep up with inflation was to rely on growth and rising property values, which hopefully increased the tax base enough to pay for teachers and services.
In Belton, more school revenue is now provided by the state than local taxes.
Under a provision called “hold harmless,” rising property values now count for very little. The state is counting attendance, and has a dollar amount fixed to each student in a district. If property values go up, the portion of a student’s education paid by the state goes down in proportion.
Eric Banfield, business manager for the Belton school district, said now an increase in property tax values matters far less than average daily attendance and weighted average daily attendance - the way districts receive funding for special education students extra care.
“I just need more students, that’s the only way to get more money out of the system,” Banfield said.
“We like funding based on our students and we are partly there. It makes sense to (receive funding based) on who you are educating.”
Belton administrators are anticipating an increase of 230 students this year. With the state providing almost 67 percent of the general fund revenue for Belton, those 230 students mean another $1 million a year in funding, according to calculations made using district data.
kchandler@temple-telegram.com
