Fewer school districts raising property taxes by 4 percent

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — More school boards are opting not to increase property taxes as high as they can to help educate students.

That’s according to a Lexington Herald-Leader (http://bit.ly/18i0wCl) analysis of state data going back to the economic recession in the 2007-08 academic year.

State law allows school boards to increase the tax rate annually so that it provides 4 percent more revenue than the previous year without being subject to a voter recall.

In the 2007-08 academic year, 107 of the state’s 173 school district’s voted for the 4 percent increase. During the 2012-13 academic year, that number had fallen to 76.

For districts that didn’t approve the increase, the automatic default is the compensating rate, which means taxes are adjusted to bring in the same amount as the previous year.

___

Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com

©2015 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.