Hernando school board votes no on tax hike

Two school board members decided they didn't need to wait to vote against a tax increase.

Their votes were all it took to shoot it down.

The Hernando County School Board fell one vote shy of the necessary majority for the 25-cent tax increase for every $1,000 of taxable property value.

That means as of Tuesday, no county government board has voted to raise taxes for the upcoming fiscal year.

Even one of the school board members who voted for the proposed increase, John Sweeney, conceded during Wednesday's public meeting that the prevailing feeling among residents was that government "can't take another penny" from them.

"Enough is enough," he said.

After the vote, Sweeney said he thought it was premature for the board to refuse a tax increase when there was still uncertainty about how much funding would come from Tallahassee. Voting it down so soon, he said, would eliminate what little flexibility the board had.

"We had plenty of time to vote against it," said a frustrated Sweeney, who stepped in as chairman due to Dianne Bonfield's absence.

Wednesday's no vote was final. If the board had voted yes, the matter could have been revisited at the next meeting in September.

Minutes after the meeting, Sweeney vented about the school board with Joe Vitalo, president of the Hernando Classroom Teachers Association.

"We have no reserves left," said Vitalo, who was in favor of the increase. "The only thing left now is to cut programs."

James Yant also voted in favor of the tax increase.

"Our backs are against the wall," he said of the school system's finances.

Pat Fagan, who along with Sandra Nicholson voted against the measure, said the board would have lost the support of residents had it decided to raise taxes at a time when so many are having economic difficulty.

"They would not be with us when we need more money for capital improvements down the road," he said.

Without the higher tax, the rate is 7.47 mills. One mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of taxable property value.

With the $25,000 exemption, the district will tax a homeowner $747 for a $125,000 house. If the board had approved the increase, that homeowner would have paid $772, which still would have been $5 less than the 2008 bill.

The board also decided to purchase 10 new school buses instead of 20. That cost-cutting measure would save the district about $1 million, Fagan said.

The board decided not to purchase any buses last year and therefore, the fleet is made up of several vehicles that are 20 years old, said fleet manager Joe Handzus, who discouraged the board from passing on new buses for the second consecutive year.

The second and final meeting on the proposed 2009-10 school budget is Sept. 15.