The school board may or may not raise taxes, but so far it is moving down a path that would keep any increase below 4.3 percent.

The state timeline requires that districts that plan to exceed their index must prepare a proposed preliminary budget by Jan. 28.

At Monday’s meeting of the board’s finance committee, committee members agreed that they would recommend not going over the index. That resolution would be presented at the next committee meeting and be ready for a board vote in December.

Director of Business Services Jim Grosch said a 4.3 percent increase equates to 2.379 mills – $2.38 per $1,000 of assessed value. The current tax rate is 55.3371 mills — $55.34 per $1,000.

Committee chairman Arthur Stewart said 2.379 mills would bring the district about $1 million.

“Stay under that 2.379… that’s the way we’ll bring it to the next agenda,” he said.

LOCAL PARTICIPATION

When the district entered into contracts for renovations of the Warren County Career Center, contractors had to agree to use local goods, services, workers, and companies.

“We required the contractors that bid on the contract to keep track of a minimum of 10 percent of the value of the contract to be spent in the community,” Director of Buildings and Grounds Services Dr. Norbert Kennerknecht said. “They are required to do this.”

The most recent documents from the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contract, the plumbing contract, and the electrical contract show each is over the 10 percent mark for the project.

The HVAC contract of almost $3 million requires just under $300,000 in local participation. To date, the amount spent locally under that contract is $311,280.64, Kennerknecht said.

For the $2 million plumbing contract, local sources are about $2,400 over the required amount.

On the electrical contract, local spending is more than twice the required amount – $471,148.04 compared to $229,019.

If a contractor were to come up short on the local amount, the district could withhold payment of the shortfall, Kennerknecht said.

The general contractor is under – having exceeded half of the required $932,450, but Kennerknecht said local effort through subcontractors could count toward the general contractor’s requirement, which would bring the total well above 10 percent.

“The construction project does help the economy of Warren County,” he said. “I think you could make the bold statement that we could have required 20 percent.”