Boone County School Board August 31
This was a special meeting to formally determine the Property Tax Rate for 2026. All Board Members, Julie Maddox, Karen Byrd, Jesse Parks, Cindy Young, and Carolyn Wolfe, were present.
Public Comment:
State Senator Steve Rawlings indicated rising property taxes is the primary topic on which senior voters interact with him. They report property tax, of which 60% comes from the local school board, are forcing them to make life changing decision since most are on fixed income. He requested selecting the compensating rate.
State Representative Marianne Proctor indicated she has sought a working relationship with the local board to shift the property tax burden off constituents, and to date has had very little interaction. Consequently she can only ask the board to consider the compensating rate.
State Representative TJ Roberts recounted success that the Northern Ky legislators have had in Frankfort but indicated he has been unable to get any Boone County School Board presence in Frankfort to seek solutions. He requested the compensating rate.
Randy Stigall spoke as an advocate for seniors who struggle increasingly to handle rising expenses. He provided the following 10-year changes for seniors in terms of income vs. School District spending:
- Social Security COLA increased 35%
- Student count is still 20,000, up only 2%
- Local taxes for schools are up 64%
- Instructional spending, up 40%.
- Administration (student and staff support and district and school Admin) is up 61%.
Several other speakers requested no higher than compensating rate. Only one speaker, a leader in the Parent Teacher organization, expressed support for maximum rate increase.
Several Board members indicated some empathy but shifted to needing more money to keep the system going, mentioning 42 positions would need to be eliminated at the compensating rate.
ALL BOARD MEMBERS VOTED FOR THE MAXIMUM TAX INCREASE BY ROLL CALL VOTE.