Burgin Independent OKs Tax Hike

At a special-called meeting last week, the Burgin Board of Education voted to increase the tax rate on personal property to 6.95 per $1,000 in assessed value.

Officials note the four percent increase is not a four percent increase in the tax rate. Rather, the increase is designed to raise tax-based revenues by four-percent. Burgin Finance Officer Kate Sizemore said that, with property reassessments, many taxpayers will actually pay less in property taxes than last year.

The school board also voted to hire retired Superintendent Richard Webb as a facilitator. Webb will be paid $1,500 to help devise the school’s 2018 facility plan. They also agreed to pay Ross Tarrant Architects $3,093 to consult.

Superintendent Will Begley said they’re still looking for a parent to serve on the planning committee.

After the meeting, Begley took the board members on a tour of the school building, showing them the new security vestibule, which was a recommendation from a safety survey last year.

He said the school has hired Isaiah House to paint the gym during the fall break. Begley said they also plan to install a photo montage, with pictures drawn from old yearbooks, at the entrance to the gymnasium. He said they were also looking at ways to refurbish the school bathrooms, which have not been redone since the current school building was constructed.

The next meeting of the Burgin Board of Education is Wednesday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. at the Burgin school library.

To learn more, check out this week’s issue of The Harrodsburg Herald.