'Not a new tax': Vital $12M hangs on the line for public education in Montgomery County

Local public school leadership is worried this Super Tuesday — not about presidential primaries or who will be the first representative for Alabama’s newly redrawn second district, but about a potentially massive slash in the district budgets that would impact Montgomery and Pike Road.

The very last item on the ballot in Montgomery County will be an addendum to renew a 40-year-old property tax of 3.5 mills. Annually, this tax brings in $11 million for Montgomery Public Schools and $1.2 million for Pike Road Schools.

These dollars go toward special education, athletics, transportation for high schoolers and other aspects that the schools deem important, though the state considers them nonessential.

If residents vote “yes,” the funding will remain in place for the next 30 years, and residents’ taxes will stay the same as they were last year.

However, if they vote “no,” both districts will be scrambling to fill the gaps in their budgets come this fall.

What happens to MPS

MPS Superintendent Melvin Brown said his main concern is that voters think this is a new tax or that it would result in a taxation increase. It is not, and it will not.

“You've been paying it for 40 years,” Brown said. “I understand the conversation about new money. I get that. This is not new. This is what we've been paying for a very long time, and we need that to help our kids be successful.”

He said he believes the vote should be a “no-brainer.”

Over the last four decades, this annual money has been used across many different areas in MPS, from instructional programming and infrastructure to staffing elementary, middle and high schools.

Currently, the money pays for custodial workers, maintenance staff and bus drivers. MPS Chief School Finance Officer Arthur Watts said the state only funds 78% of the district’s transportation needs, and it also does not require the district to provide buses for high school or magnet students.

If the tax is not renewed, Watts said high school and magnet transportation could potentially be on the chopping block, along with field trips, after-school tutoring and the availability of Advanced Placement programs.

“We’ll have some hard decisions to make,” Watts said.

Brown and Watts understand that the average community member doesn’t know or even need to know the details of what it takes to run a school district. To put the impact of $11 million in context, though, Watts said losing that would be the direct monetary equivalent of losing approximately 200 teachers or 400 secretaries and custodians.

What happens to Pike Road

When it comes to Pike Road, this tax is important in a different way.

The 3.5 mill rate contributes to the state minimum of 10 mills that the district is required to collect in taxes each year in order to get a larger sum of money from Alabama’s Foundation Program.

This means that the short-term impact of nonrenewal would be a loss of $1.2 million, but the long-term impact could be much greater. If the county does not vote to renew the 3.5 mills, the district will have to reallocate 3.5 mills from elsewhere.

Superintendent Keith Lankford said that would likely come out of the county sales tax, which currently funds about 7 teaching units, 11 teaching aids and intervention tutors.

“As public educators, we don't have a means of regenerating money. I cannot and Dr. Brown cannot charge tuition. We cannot go out and levy anything as a school district,” Lankford said. “It is up to you, the citizens, our municipalities and our counties to do that.”

He also said if the tax renewal doesn’t pass, it will be “devastating” to the state of Pike Road Schools.

How much you’re actually paying

For individual households, depending on the value of your home, you pay between $6-$30 a month.

In the leadup to the vote, Pike Road Schools Chief Financial Officer Amber Anderson calculated the specifics and found that those with a property value of $200,000 pay less than $6 per month. For a property valued at $500,000, owners pay less than $15 per month, and for a property valued at $1 million, owners pay less than $30 per month.

“It's also important to note that the property tax rates in the state of Alabama are among the lowest in the country,” Superintendent Brown said. “I think 20 bucks a month is worth trying to make sure our kids get the resources they need. I’m more than willing to pony that up, and I think it's our responsibility to do so.”

What you’ll see on the ballot

When Montgomery County voters go to vote on the tax renewal, it will be the last item.

The top will read: “SPECIAL ELECTION FOR RENEWAL AND CONTINUATION OF LEVY OF THE 3.5 MILL COUNTYWIDE SCHOOL TAX.”

After a short description of the tax, there will be an option to vote “FOR” or “AGAINST” the proposed taxation.

The first option will keep the funding in place as it has been for the last 40 years. The second will result in the potential cuts that Lankford and Brown are worried about.

Hadley Hitson covers children's health, education and welfare for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery, Pike Road urge voters to support schools in tax vote