(Spirit Lake)– Voters in the Spirit Lake School District will head to the polls March 18th to decide the fate of a Physical Plant and Equipment Levy.
Meeting in special session late Wednesday, the board unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a special election on the additional property tax, that would be in effect 10 years.
If approved, residents of the Spirit Lake School District would see their property taxes go up by $1.34 per one thousand dollars of valuation. Superintendent Doug Latham says that would then replace the cash reserve of $1.38 per one thousand dollars valuation currently in effect.
The district is desperately looking at ways to increase revenue, in light of a need to trim between 600-thousand and a million dollars from next year’s budget. According to estimates, the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy would generate slightly more than 1.1 million dollars a year in additional revenue for the district. While it would go a long way toward easing the matter, Superintendent Doug Latham says it won’t take care of the entire problem.
The Spirit Lake school board also Wednesday discussed a new incentive for the district’s early retirement program, but took no action. Latham says it’s also intended to serve as a cost-saving measure.
The board will consider that issue further at an upcoming meeting.
