Columbia-area school district proposes property tax hike despite city efforts to cut taxes
.JPG "Richland 2 schools superintendent Baron Davis will stay with the district until mid-2025 and will receive a 4% raise after the school board approved changes to his contract Sept. 22, 2021.")
A Columbia-area school district is asking to increase the amount of property taxes it levies to help make ends meet for the upcoming school year.
The ask comes as the Columbia City Council is working on strategies to lower property taxes county-wide. In light of those efforts, some in the community have already balked at the school district’s proposal in emails to the Richland County Council, which will approve or deny the district’s request.
“I’m very much in shock, in light of the discussions we’re having across our communities” about the area’s uncompetitive property taxes, said Columbia Councilman Joe Taylor, who has led the city’s plans to cut property taxes in the area through eventual legislative action.
The Richland 2 school board Tuesday voted 4-3 to raise the amount of taxes they levy to the maximum allowed by state law.
The increase, if approved, would cost the average vehicle owner an extra $12 a year, according to an analysis from the school district. That analysis also estimates a $108 annual tax increase per $100,000 of property value for owners paying taxes on businesses and other commercial property.
Primary residences don’t pay the property taxes levied by school districts, but rental properties, small businesses, large warehouses and any other commercial properties do pay those taxes.
“As a school board, we would have preferred to not have had to do that,” said board vice chair James Manning of asking for the increase. But he said it’s to ensure the district has a balanced budget for next year.
The state Legislature has not finalized an education budget, but the House amended budget that is available would leave the Richland 2 school district more than $13 million short of a balanced budget for the 2022-2023 school year.
The district’s proposed budget includes more than $336 million, a roughly $20 million increase from the prior year.
Because the district doesn’t know for certain what it will receive from the state, it is hoping to cover its bases through the local tax increase.
The tax increase would net the district just over $6 million for the year. It would still be roughly $7 million short of a balanced budget.
The district by late January had spent less than $8 million of the nearly $60 million in pandemic relief money it received from the federal government, according to state data.
Some have suggested that the district use that money to balance the budget, but Manning said there are several reasons why that wouldn’t work.
There are limited things the money can be spent on based on federal rules. The categories vary, but the money is largely intended to help districts pay for pandemic-related costs and for programs to get students reengaged and caught up after a tumultuous two years.
The federal money is also only being allocated one time, so relying on those dollars for recurring expenses would ensure the district would have a deficit again this time next year, Manning added.
The Richland County Council will have an opportunity June 7 to consider the district’s request.
Council Chairman Overture Walker said it would be “imprudent” to predict what he and his colleagues will do prior to that meeting, but he offered some general comments on the tax hike via email.
“County Council recognizes and is concerned about the impact of higher taxes on our residents and business owners, particularly, in an economic environment saddled by rising inflation, a surge in fuel and food prices, and an uptick in the cost of rent,” he said.
He added that he understands all agencies in the county are struggling financially. “However, this is also an uncertain time for many of our residents and businesses, and that’s where we have centered our focus as a Council.”
This story was originally published June 2, 2022 at 9:21 AM.
CORRECTION: Richland District 2 estimates that the proposed budget would raise property taxes on commercial or rental property valued at $100,000 by $108 a year. A previous version of this story gave an incorrect figure for the district’s projected annual increase.
