HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – A video message from Christian County Public Schools was released to parents, teachers, and the community with an update on key financial matters concerning tax rates before the Aug. 15 school board meeting.
Superintendent Chris Bentzel began the video saying, “Over the past four years, the Christian County Board of Education has been mindful of the economic challenges facing our community, state, and nation. At Thursday’s meeting, I will recommend lowering our local property tax rate from 42.2 to 41 cents per $100.”
The agenda for the referenced school board meeting includes discussion and approval for the 2024-2025 fiscal year tax rates including personal, and real property tax rates, along with permissive utility tax, motor vehicle, aircraft, and watercraft tax rates.
He further explained that they have not raised taxes for the past four years and have no plans to introduce new taxes. The rate for the previous fiscal year produced a revenue of $20,145,905, and this new rate is expected to increase revenue by $1,343,756.
During the statement, Bentzel said CCPS has effectively utilized their $150 million budget and has the seventh lowest tax rate in the state. Despite having this low rate, the school system has increased their emergency fund up from $5 million to $12 million.
The statement ended with Bentzel praising the school system’s ability to continually raise the salary of faculty and staff saying, “We are committed to further improving employee compensation, because our staff is our greatest asset.”
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