District 26 board to weigh in on tax hike

Nine days after unanimously rejecting a tax-hike referendum, a key panel in Cary Elementary District 26 has reversed course and sent a ballot measure to the full school board for consideration.

On Monday, the board will decide whether to ask voters for a 70-cent increase in the Education Fund tax rate. The hike would cost the owner of a $300,000 home about $660 in additional taxes each year, officials said.

The reversal by the District 26 Finance Committee may mark a key turning point in the decision over whether to go to referendum. Just last week, after the committee rejected a ballot measure, it was uncertain whether the board would even get to vote on the matter.

But in recent days, District 26 leaders have said the public has a right to weigh in on whether to close the district's budget gap with new taxes. That gap is expected to grow to more than $5 million at the end of next year.

"The district needs a referendum to continue its level of programming," Superintendent Brian Coleman said Monday. "(Voters) should have the opportunity to vote on whether they want an additional tax rate."

Compared to the initial proposal the administration presented earlier this month, the ballot measure the board will consider Monday would cost taxpayers more in the short run, but less long-term, district officials said.

That's because the initial proposal balanced the 70-cent Education Fund rate increase with a 20-cent reduction to the bond tax rate. That reduction would have been the result of refinancing the district's debt, which would reduce annual payments - but cost significantly more in the long run.

"Concern was expressed by a couple of us that the option that was originally presented, while ostensibly cheaper, really was just deferring some of the problems and really making it a lot more expensive," Finance Committee member Chris Spoerl said.

District officials also are mulling about $5.4 million in proposed cuts, including steep reductions to music, art and physical education. Officials say they will have to implement only about half of those cuts if voters approve a tax increase.

The board voted Monday to close Maplewood School at the end of this year because of declining enrollment, a move expected to save about $900,000 annually.