Bayless School Board to Consider New Tax Levy

The School Board has set a meeting to consider the size and nature of a tax levy they are asking district residents to support on the ballot this coming year.

The open meeting will be held Jan. 7 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.  School board president Jeff Preisack said the board might vote at that meeting to put the levy on the ballot.

“This is big stuff,” Preisack said Wednesday, encouraging a board member to skip another meeting to attend.

Despite , both the administration and the Bayless teachers’ union stress that the passage of a levy is critically important to the revenue-strapped district. Between cuts in state funding and falling property valuations, the district sees dire consequences and cuts in its future if its financial picture doesn’t improve.

“If things don’t improve revenue-wise, the cuts are going to be severe,” former district chief financial officer John Stewart said when Preisack first proposed the tax levy in May. “We are running out of things that can be cut that don’t affect classrooms.”

had the district running a significant deficit despite large cuts, and setbacks on its construction efforts have required costly budget adjustments.