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2014 Election: School board candidates talk taxes, budgets, bus routes, Preschool

Posted at 3:52 am November 3, 2014
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Oak Ridge Board of Education Candidates 2014

Oak Ridge Board of Education candidates are, from right, Mike Mahathy, Laura McLean, Bob Eby, Andy Howe, Paige Marshall, and Jean Hiser. Not pictured are Laurie Paine and Aaron Wells.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:10 a.m. Nov. 3.

School board candidates at two forums this campaign season expressed optimism that school officials will be able to continue to provide school bus transportation to most students in the next school year, and several said they would support a property tax rate increase if it were deemed necessary.

Bob Eby, Oak Ridge Board of Education vice chair, cited delayed staff raises and textbook purchases as well as capital project needs. Eby helped lead moves this summer to restore bus transportation to preschool students and then other students after the area where bus service is not provided was temporarily expanded to 1.5 miles as part of cost-cutting measures in June.

In August, Karen Gagliano, Oak Ridge Schools director of business and support services, said the $500,000 in fund balance money used to restore transportation and the delayed purchase of textbooks, among other things, means the school system could start the Fiscal Year 2015 budget discussions with a $1.8 million deficit, before anything new is added.

“I will ask for a tax increase next year,” Eby said. “We’ve put (off) all we can put off.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2014 Election, Education, Education, K-12, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: 1:1, 1:1 devices, Aaron Wells, Andy Howe, Bob Eby, bus route, Dan DiGregorio, election, Jean Hiser, Jenny Richter, Laura McLean, Laurie Paine, Mike Mahathy, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Preschool, Paige Marshall, parent responsibility zone, pay riase, property tax rate increase, school board, school board candidates, school bus transportation, tax increase, teacher raises, technology initiative

City recommends budget with no tax increase, Council votes Monday

Posted at 6:14 pm June 3, 2014
By John Huotari 25 Comments

Oak Ridge City Council

The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above during an August 2013 meeting. (File photo)

Note: This story was updated at 7:40 p.m. June 4.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson on Monday recommended a budget that does not raise the property tax rate, setting up a potential conflict with school officials, who have requested a 37-cent tax increase to avoid cuts.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education already approved its budget in in two meetings last week. That budget, which was scaled back from an earlier proposal, could include an extra $3.3 million to start implementing a technology initiative known as 1:1 that would provide electronic learning devices to all students over three years, add five technology positions, and give 2 percent pay raises to staff.

But the budget is still subject to the amount appropriated to the schools by the city. Oak Ridge provides a little less than one-third of the school system’s funding.

While the schools have approved a budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, the city has not. The Oak Ridge City Council will consider the municipal budget in two separate meetings this month, one on June 9 and the second on June 16. The city budget also includes a 2 percent pay raise for employees.

It’s not clear that Oak Ridge City Council members will agree to raise taxes to accommodate the school system’s request. In his budget presentation to Council on Monday, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said Council members have endorsed keeping the tax rate unchanged for the seventh year in a row.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Government, Government, K-12, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: 1:1, 1:1 devices, Anderson County, Bruce Borchers, budget, city budget, electronic learning devices, engineering, Mark Watson, mathematics, municipal workers, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, Oak Ridge Schools, pay raises, property tax rate, Ray Evans, sales tax revenues, school board, school budget, school staff, science, STEM, Steve Jones, tax increase, tech initiative, technology, technology initiative

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