The Oak Ridge Board of Education and school administrators are pictured above during a meeting earlier this year. (File photo)
The Oak Ridge City Council did not want to raise the property tax rate, so the Oak Ridge Board of Education could consider cuts to next year’s school budget during a Monday evening meeting
The school board passed a budget in May that requested a 37-cent property tax rate increase to start rolling out a technology initiative known as 1:1, hire technology personnel and other staff, comply with the reporting requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act, and give employees a 2 percent pay raise, among other things.
But in two meetings this month, the Oak Ridge City Council rejected any change to the tax rate, and it will remain unchanged for the seventh year in a row.
School officials had previously said they will have to “go back to the drawing board” and make cuts if Council did not approve the tax rate increase. But it’s not clear yet what cuts might be made. School administrators outlined some possible reductions during school board budget discussions in May, but none of them were included in a June 2 presentation to the Oak Ridge City Council.
The Board of Education meeting starts at 6 p.m. Monday in the School Administration Building at 304 New York Ave. See the agenda here.
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