Monday night the Knoxville School Board heard a presentation on the fiscal year 2017 audit.
Teresa Welch with Blucker, Kneer & Associates presented the board with the detailed report, as well as a key notes on her findings.
Welch says that the general fund last year ran deficit spending by nearly 3/4 of a million dollars.
Superintendent Steve Wilder says that he had hoped for better results out of the audit, but said that because the state had delayed payments in categorical funds it worked against the district.
When speaking of the current year, Wilder says that assuming categorical payments come in on time, the district should be back in a normal place.
He added that he does not expect the state to make all four categorical payments – saying he only budgeted for two.
The Board of Education also heard an update on the 2017 tax levy from Wilder.
He says that the revised projected Equalized Assessed Value of the district came in at almost $105.3M, which reflects a 4.36% growth of property values.
Wilder proposed one option for the board – an increase in the levy of almost 5% .
According to Wilder, the tax rate he presented would be the lowest in nearly the last ten years.
As Wilder would go on to say, “To put that in more realistic terms, the owner of a $100,000 home would pay $1459.”
The board approved the increase unanimously.
