SUMMARY: Tax Hearing and Special Board Meeting
The Bowling Green Board of Education held a Public Forum and Special Board Meeting on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, regarding the local tax rate.
The Board voted unanimously to maintain the 2024 tax rate at 84.8 cents per $100 on real and personal property. Of the 84.8, 68.6 cents will go toward the district’s General Fund and 16.2 cents for the Building Fund.
BGISD pays the City of Bowling Green to prepare tax notices and collect local taxes for the district.
These notices will be mailed to residents in early November 2024.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
SEEK Funding and Tax Overview:
The Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) Formula guarantees that school districts will receive the per pupil funding in the amount of $4,326 per Average Daily Attendance for the 2024-2025 school year. Districts pay part of the guaranteed base funding, defined as 30¢ per $100 of the assessed value of their taxable property.
For districts like BGISD, with rising property values, this results in the local share of per pupil funding increasing and the state’s share decreasing.
BGISD has the opportunity to maintain the local tax rate of 0.848, and generate more than a 4% revenue increase from last year. However, also due to the increase in assessment values, the state’s contribution to the district’s SEEK rate will decrease by $84,000.
School District Budgets:
Approximately 80% of school district budget expenditures are in staffing: salaries and benefits.
Although BGISD has been able to utilize local tax revenue, plus enrollment growth, and excellent attendance rates for state funding, district salaries are not keeping pace with local costs of living.
Without additional state funding, it is difficult if not impossible to close a growing salary gap.