Lake-Lehman School Board votes to limit any tax increase

LEHMAN TWP. — During a special meeting Wednesday, the Lake-Lehman School Board voted to keep any property tax increase for the 2024-25 budget within a state limit known as the Act 1 Index. The vote does not mean there will be any tax increase.

School boards across the county and state have been passing similar resolutions to comply with a state law enacted when gambling was legalized in 2006. To make legalized gambling more palatable to a leery electorate, the law promised to use some proceeds to reduce property taxes for home and farm owners through a “homestead/farmstead exemption.“ As part of that arrangement, the Act 1 index was established to limit property tax increases.

The state calculates a new index for each district each year. A district can only exceed the index by either getting voter approval in the spring primary or getting state approval for a narrow list of exceptions. If a board wants to exceed the limit, it must approve a preliminary budget 110 days prior to the primary. When the state moved the Primary from May to April, that meant districts would have to approve a preliminary budget in January.

By passing a resolution promising not to exceed the index, the Lake-Lehman Board now has until the end of May to approve a preliminary budget. All districts must approve a final budget by the end of June.

The tax cap for Lake-Lehman for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1, is 6.1%. Approving the resolution has no impact on the actual budget other than to limit the increase. The board can approve any tax hike up to that limit, no tax hike, or even a tax decrease.

While the voting session was short, the meeting extended another 40 minutes or so when the board opened the floor for comments on non-agenda items. Numerous parents and former football players stood in turn to praise longtime football coach Jerry Gilsky, citing his positive impacts on the players over the years. Gilsky has taken some heat recently from those unsatisfied with the won-loss record. The audience included a large contingent of football players wearing their letter jackets.