It would cost someone making $30,000 annually about $300 a year.
Projections indicate the district will be in deficit due to rising costs and if it continues to take in and spend the same amount of money it has, Superintendent Kirk Koennecke said.
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“We are in deficit spending as of this next fiscal year and would have a negative cash balance as of 2019 overall. So we are asking so that we can maintain our current spending levels,” he said. “It would be enough for us to move forward and maintain the quality of programming and then try to add some more quality programming over time so our students can be competitive.”
Graham board members approved putting the levy on the ballot and will have to vote a second time to make it official on June 26.
If residents reject the tax increase, Koennecke said the district will have to again make cuts. The school made significant cuts during the 2011-2012 school year. It reduced its budget by $2.35 million then through cutting 24 teachers, along with other support and administrative staff members, and eliminating some academic programs.
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“This will be the first time in seven years that Graham will be seeking any kind of operating levy to fund schools and we have not passed a new operating levy in over 24 years,” Koennecke said. “So we are hopeful that this modest 1 percent earned income tax issue, it will allow us to bring some new needed funds into the district.”
Voters in the Champaign County school district approved a bond issue in 1997 and have passed renewal levies since then. The superintendent has been adamant that high schools today must provide students more than a diploma, and must also offer opportunities for certifications and other work-related studies so that they have a leg up going into college or the workforce.
He said the new money would go into further funding those educational programs.
“We will be able to get up-to-date technology, new classroom materials, lab materials and supplies for science and technology programming,” Koennecke said.
Beth Brown, a grandparent in the district, said she believes Graham Local Schools is a great place for her grandchild to get an education.
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“My grandson goes here and it is an excellent school,” she said. “The teachers are wonderful. If the child has a problem, they work with them.”
She said the administration is top-notch.
“If there are problems, they take care of them,” Brown said.
If voters approve the levy, the district would have to go back on the ballot in five years to seek a renewal.
“That gives our voters a chance to evaluate how the district is spending their money,” Koennecke said.
By the Numbers
$18 million: The current total budget of the Graham Local School District.
$1.9 million: The total increase school officials hope to get if voters approve a levy in November.
1 percent: The tax increase on earned income that school officials are asking voters to approve in November.
$300: Cost of income tax increase for a worker making $30,000 a year.
Continuing Coverage
The Springfield News-Sun digs into important stories that affect your taxes, including recent stories on the city of Springfield’s income tax increase and school bond issues for Greenon and Clark-Shawnee.
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