Westside Community Schools board passed a resolution Monday night to ask voters for more money to support the district.
School board members said at a board meeting that with state aid currently declining and lower than it was in 2010 and 2011, the district needs more money to support teachers and student programs.
“We've already reduced our expenses $10.5 million so moving forward we want to continue to offer the best educational programs that we can,” said Blane McCann, superintendent for the district.
In a unanimous vote, the board approved to put the issue on the September ballot - a tax levy override for the next five years, beginning in 2018 for the 2018-2019 school year, from a 10-cent override, to a 15-cent override.
“Although we've seen a bump in the last year, it's not enough to overcorrect the loss that we've had in property valuations in the last 10 years, so with that said, we've had to make sure we're getting the correct amount of revenue so we can do the curriculum, we need to update so we can maintain our buildings, and so we have the best quality teachers in front of our kiddos,” said Beth Morrissette, president of the board.
The board said the override would help the district from making other budget cuts. The extra revenue brought in by the new override would go towards district operations, such as teachers’ salaries, mental health support programs, and career education.
“It's a lot that we're asking for. It's always about increasing the amount of money that we need to pay for taxes and no one wants to do that. I don't want to do that. But it's what we need to do and we kept it as low as we possibly could,” added Morrissette.
If approved, District 66 homeowners would pay about $4 more a month for every $100,000 of assessed valuation.
Voters will receive a mail-in ballot from the Douglas County Election Commission in mid-August with information. Ballots must be submitted by September 12.
