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By James C. Stanton, Superintendent of Dunkerton Comm. Schools
I hope everyone’s New Year is off to a great start!
There are two elections in Dunkerton Community School’s future. The first will occur on February 3, 2010, and the second will be on April 6, 2010. I would like to take a few minutes of your time today and try to clarify what the District is asking for in the February election.
The ballot question will read as follows: Shall the Board of Directors of the Dunkerton Community School District in the Counties of Black Hawk and Bremer, State of Iowa, be authorized for a period of 10 years, to levy annually, as determined by the Board, a voter-approved physical plant and equipment property tax not to exceed One Dollar Thirty-Four Cents ($1.34) per One Thousand Dollars ($1,000) of the assessed valuation of the taxable property within the school district, commencing with the levy for collection in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, to be used for the purchase and improvement of grounds; the construction of schoolhouses or buildings and opening roads to schoolhouses or buildings; the purchase of buildings and the purchase of equipment; the payment of debts contracted for the erection or construction of schoolhouses or buildings, not including interest on bonds; procuring or acquisition of libraries; repairing, remodeling, reconstructing, improving, or expanding the schoolhouses or buildings and additions to existing schoolhouses; expenditures for energy conservation; the rental of facilities under Chapter 28E; purchase of transportation equipment for transporting students; lease purchase option agreements for school buildings or equipment; equipment purchases authorized by law; or for any purpose or purposes now or hereafter authorized by law?
First—this is not a new tax. The District has been levying this tax for at least the past 14 years.
Second — please do not be misled by the wording that looks like the District is asking for an additional $1.34 per $1,000 of valuation. The District currently levies 67 cents per $1,000 of valuation on its Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) and this would only increase the levy by an additional 67 cents per $1,000 of valuation. It bears worth repeating; this is not a new tax, and we are not asking for an additional $1.34, we are merely asking for an additional 67 cents to compliment the 67 cents that we currently assess.
Why does the District need to increase the PPEL Levy? Simply put, we need to maintain the structures that we currently use, and with the increasing costs associated with that maintenance, it is a necessary levy. Monies collected by the PPEL levy can also be used to purchase new buses, and that will become an important factor as we move into the future and try to find ways to free up general fund dollars for student use. The nice part about the PPEL levy is that it is a restricted use levy and it assures the District patrons that the money will be used to maintain our current structures and to buy new buses.
If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Stay in touch, jstanton@dunkerton.k12.ia.us |
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