BCSC school board to consider tax hike for teacher pay raises tonight

The Bartholomew Consolidated School board will be considering asking voters to increase their property taxes to raise teacher and staff pay in the school district.

The school board tonight is set to consider putting a referendum on the May primary ballot.

We talked recently with Dr. Jim Roberts, BCSC’s superintendent, about the approval process to get the tax increase before the voters.

School officials estimate that the proposal would add $7.79 cents a month to the property taxes of the average home owner in the district.

The school board has two January meetings to approve a referendum.

Roberts said that although originally proposed as a larger tax hike going to a wider variety of school district needs, the board will consider a scaled back version at tonight’s meeting. 100 percent of the new revenue would go to improve pay for teachers and staff, along with school security.

While the proposal presented at last month’s board meeting included money for maintenance and supplies, those have been dropped.

The board meets at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Northside Middle School and you are invited to attend.