The JCPS Board of Education, today, announced a “Tax Rate Hearing” for this coming Tuesday at 5:30 PM “for the purpose of hearing public comments regarding a proposed 2023-24 General Fund tax levy of at most 80.0 cents on real property and at most 80.0 cents on personal property.”
At a “Special Meeting” scheduled at 6:00 PM, Superintendent Marty Pollio will recommend the Board of Education approve the proposed tax rate, opening the door for another heated and controversial debate prior to the November election. The last time the JCPS board passed a motion like this was in 2020. Following a great deal of controversy and scandal, much of which we reported on, the courts ultimately awarded the tax increase to the district.
The rationale for the meeting, found on the district’s website, says,
Of this 80.0 cents rate, 3.7 cents will be subject to recall as it exceeds the current 4 percent rate of 76.3 cents per $100 assessment on real property and 3.2 cents on personal property. Required advertisements were placed in the Courier-Journal on June 9, 2023, and June 11, 2023. The public hearing is being held on June 20, 2023, prior to this Board meeting. For rates subject to recall, as required by KRS 160.470(8), an additional advertisement will be placed within 7 days following this Board meeting should the Board vote to levy a recall rate.
We think voters should decide if this increase should go through. Because, unlike in 2020 when district leaders beat the system by having the petition thrown out in court on a technicality, we think JCPS leaders should EARN the People’s Vote. A law that passed the KY General Assembly in 2021 reduced the number of signatures to put the issue on the ballot this November to 5,000.
To find out how to sign up to speak at Tuesday night’s public forum, contact (502) 485-3342 before 4:00 PM on Tuesday (Monday is a federal holiday and the district offices are closed). Follow our page for information on how you can sign the pledge to demand JCPS “EARN the People’s Vote.”