Mansfield school and township officials agree to reduce the elementary school tax rate by 2 cents.
By: William Wichert
MANSFIELD School and township officials recently agreed to reduce the elementary school tax rate by 2 cents without meeting publicly to discuss the defeated school budget.
After voters rejected the $8.7 million financial package by a margin of 759-443 in last month’s election, officials decided in phone conversations over the last few weeks to add another cent to the 1-cent tax rate decrease within the original proposal. The state deadline for adopting school budgets was May 19.
"They (township officials) usually know what they want from us and we know what we can give," said school Business Administrator Lisa Giovanelli. "It’s done until next year, when we get to do it all over again."
Under the new tax rate of $1.20 per $100 of assessed property value, the owner of a home assessed at the township average of $178,000 will see an annual tax bill of $2,136 and a savings of $36.60. The original budget would have included a tax savings of $25.This extra tax rate decrease, which translates into about $63,000 of the total budget, will not have any effect on school programs, because the district has already been able to recover all of that money from different sources, said Ms. Giovanelli.
Additional revenue came from the salary savings produced by a recent retirement in the district; tuition received for out-of-district student placements; and a $24,000 legal settlement with the Riverside School District, she said.
"The nice thing is we didn’t have to cut any programs or personnel," said Ms. Giovanelli.
Mayor Puglia said he was pleased that the township and the school district could come to an agreement without placing the students in jeopardy.
"We didn’t hurt the education of the students. That’s the most important thing," said Mayor Puglia. "I think we worked something out for everybody."

