The Lafayette Parish School System's Citizens' Oversight Committee is recommending that the school board pursue not one but two property taxes to fund the facilities master plan as well as ongoing maintenance and capital projects.
The Lafayette Parish School System's Citizens' Oversight Committee is recommending that the school board pursue not one but two property taxes to fund the facilities master plan as well as ongoing maintenance and capital projects. The COC made the recommendations this week, urging the board to also begin a search for proposals from qualified companies to manage the master plan.
While the school board has adopted the $1.1 billion master plan, it has yet to vote on placing any new property taxes on a ballot for parish voters. It will likely ask for just more than half of $1.1 billion in an initial parishwide property tax proposition. But the timing of the COC's recommendations is likely making some on the board and in the central office a little queasy; on April 30 voters parishwide will decide whether to renew for 10 years a 5 mills property tax for school maintenance. The tax generates $8.1 million annually.
This past Saturday in Jefferson Parish, Kenner voters shot down six property tax proposals, including three renewals of existing taxes.