North Hills School District proposes 0.92% tax increase

Property owners in the North Hills School District are facing a .92% real estate tax increase as part of a proposed final 2023-24 spending plan.

The proposed budget was unanimously approved by the school board at its regular meeting on April 27 at North Hills Middle School.

The increase equates to .18 mills. A mill is one dollar per $1,000 dollars of assessed value. It will be put toward a capital projects fund transfer of $500,000 to cover the cost of unanticipated projects and projects planned for the future, according to the district’s director of finance and operations Jerry Muth.

The new millage rate would be 19.88 mills if it is formally approved when the committee votes on the final budget on June 1. If the increase of .18 mills remains in the final budget, homeowners with a house valued at $150,000 would pay $27 more per year, or $2.25 more per month.

“I cannot stand raising taxes personally,” Muth said. “Anybody who raises my taxes doesn’t make me happy, so I completely understand if you’re in a position where you’re not thrilled with that either. But I do think it’s necessary for not only the long term, but the short term.”

The increase currently proposed would help cover the cost of adding staff positions included in the proposed budget. They consist of an additional high school Learning Support teacher because of the increased enrollment in the special education programs at the high school, as well as adding a fifth grade teacher due to increased class sizes at McIntyre Elementary school.

North Hills School Board president Allison Mathis said the tax increase would also help make up for diminishing American Rescue Plan funds.

“We take any tax increase very seriously and we take personnel additions very seriously because those have a long lasting impact on the budget,” Mathis said. “Any tax increase we want to minimize the impact on the community, but we want to make sure that we’re providing the level of education, the level of property (maintenance) and the level of service that our community expects.

“Traditionally we’ve always had a $500,000 transfer to the capital projects fund so that we can use that money as needed.”

North Hills School District residents are being encouraged by board members to give feedback on the proposed budget over the next month.