Now that the Oregon-Davis School referendum tax levy has passed, school officials are evaluating various aspects of how the corporation is run in order to ensure the additional revenue will be spent practically and proficiently.
Superintendent Dr. Don Harman said officials are assessing staffing, programs and everything about the corporation’s operations in order to prioritize needs.
Dr. Harman explained, “We’re evaluating everything and like I’ve said, we’re looking at becoming more effective and more efficient with our expenditures so that we can be better stewards of the revenue that is generated for the corporation.”
Superintendent Harman thanked the staff, members of the Political Action Committee and all the other individuals who helped disburse information to inform community members about the importance of the referendum. He said he is also incredibly grateful to everyone who cast a vote to make a difference for the community and the school corporation.
The superintendent noted, “It says a lot for our community, saying that they value Oregon-Davis as the centerpiece of our community and our school is the centerpiece of our community and the results of the vote demonstrated that.”
As a reminder, the referendum will allow an increase to be applied to the property tax rate for residents living in Oregon and Davis Townships. It was previously predicted that this increase could bring in an additional $600,000 per year.
For the 8 years following the holding of the referendum, the rate that will be applied to each $100 of assessed valuation will go from 19 cents to a maximum of 29 cents. The revenue gathered from the increase will help cover educational and operational costs for the school corporation.
Dr. Harman added that taxpayers will still pay the current 19 cent tax rate for property tax payments due in the fall of this year. He said the increased tax rate will go into effect for the taxes that will be collected in May of 2019.
