Galesburg School Superintendent Ralph Grimm said the district is attacking its deficit head on with the hope of eliminating it by 2018.
Grimm this week talked to the school board about the idea of increasing the property tax levy rate by 35 cents. If approved, it would hike the levy from $4.70 to $5.05. The district estimates it would generate an additional $1,726,729 in revenue. That figure is based on a 1.5% increase in EAV.
Grimm estimated that a person with a home valued at $100,000 would pay $1,516 in taxes to the school district, a $105 increase from last year.
Grimm said the district cut around $2.5 million in spending in February; now it's time to look at bringing in more money. He said a property tax increase is the best option.
I believe the board needs to get a balanced budget scenario and and we have to look at the revenue side. We’ve done a significant amount on the expenditure side, now we have to look at the revenue side," Grimm said.
Grimm said more spending cuts are also likely. He said the 35 cent property tax rate increase combined with around $600,000 in additional spending reductions would help balance the budget by 2018.
For the district's 2017 budget, the deficit is at around $1.2 million.
