Bill would allow Kansas school districts to increase local tax levy

by Bob Weeks on January 21, 2010

Kansas Senate Bill 385, introduced by John Vratil, Senate Vice President and Republican from Leawood, would let Kansas school districts increase their local property tax levies beyond what is currently allowed.

This bill would allow school districts to levy additional property taxes — the so-called local option budget (LOB) — in the amount necessary to cover the shortfall between the actual base state aid per pupil and $4,433. Currently, base state aid per pupil is $4,012.

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Tagged as: Kansas legislature, Taxation, Wichita and Kansas schools

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Taxed Enough Already January 22, 2010 at 10:45 am: My goodness it only costs $4000 to educate a child. We are spending in excess of $13,000 per child in USD 259. Give people $4000 vouchers to send their kids to private school or charter schools it would save the State and taxpayers over $500 million per year.
2 LenM January 22, 2010 at 11:59 am: I do not believe the only optoin is to raise taxes every year for schools. Cut out more waste, insignificant programs, reduce busing, increase adult prices for sports, send illegals back to their home countries and quit building new schools if you can not budget for the existing schools. The country is in a recession, if not a depression, that is going to take years to get out of it. Stagnant wages and tax increases are killing the middleclass in this country, the only ones that can get the state out of the recession.
3 Wichitator January 22, 2010 at 5:42 pm: I have heard that Sen. Vratil is a lawyer who represents school districts. I guess it would be too much to ask to have him recuse himself from this legislation that show in my opinion, a clear conflict of interest.
4 Dennis C. Harris January 26, 2010 at 12:43 pm: This must not happen.

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