Once again, no one from the general public showed up Tuesday for Lakeland Union High School District’s annual meeting to vote on the proposed real estate tax levy.
So it fell upon school board members, top administrators and a few staff members to approve the levy, which they did unanimously.
The approved levy of $10,923,399 is nearly identical to the levy for last year’s budget.
The tax rate is the lowest it’s been in 18 years.
It dropped four cents to $1.82 per $100,000 of valuation. If you own a home worth that amount, you’ll pay $182 for the high school portion of your real estate tax bill.
The school board previously approved the 2018-19 budget, totaling $18.1 million, an increase of $2 million over the previous year. Much of that increase is due to the start-up of the charter schools for students on the autism spectrum. The district tapped its reserve fund to help cover those costs.
