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Fayette Board of Education

School board discusses concerns over CID

Vandelicht elected school board president

Justin Addison Editor/Publisher
Posted 6/16/20

The Fayette R-III Board of Education spent a good portion of it’s re-organization meeting Monday night discussing possible financial impacts of a proposed community improvement district (CID) …

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Fayette Board of Education

School board discusses concerns over CID

Vandelicht elected school board president

Posted

The Fayette R-III Board of Education spent a good portion of it’s re-organization meeting Monday night discussing possible financial impacts of a proposed community improvement district (CID) which the Fayette city council was expected to approve that night. A technicality delayed a vote by the council which, if approved, would have placed the measure on the August ballot for those voters who reside within the district (see Mistake on map causes snag for CID on this page).

The board also underwent a lineup change due to the recent municipal and school board elections held June 2. Skip Vandelicht was elected as Board President during Monday’s meeting. Matt Hudson was re-elected Vice-President.

Gary Gose, who had until Monday served as the board’s president, called the meeting to order. His final act as president was to add an item of discussion to the meeting’s agenda before adjourning one last time. He was presented with a plaque representing the district’s appreciation for his 15 years of service to the board.

“I’m proud of all the things we’ve accomplished,” Gose said.

Vandelicht, formerly the band director at Fayette for more than three decades, is serving on his first term on the board. He was elected in 2019.

The board once again elected Trish Elliot and Jackie Besgrove as the board’s secretary and treasurer, respectively.

Although the discussion of the CID was not originally on the board’s agenda, members spent nearly half of the meeting discussing it’s potential affects on the Fayette district. While the board took an overall favorable view of downtown revitalization, concerns surround how much revenue the district might be denied should an abatement of property taxes be approved for real estate inside the proposed CID. More than half of the district’s approximately $6.5 million revenues are funded locally, mostly through property taxes. If a tax abatement plan is approved, up to around $112,000 could be redirected from the school district to the CID, rather than sent to the school district. The idea behind the CID is that while the district will lose revenues in the short-term, it will reap the benefits of a revitalized economy which in turn will raise property values, and therefore revenues, for the school district.

However, it is currently unknown just how what percentage of property taxes in the CID would be abated.

Young presented to the board her research on the CID. She and Vandelicht both suggested that the school board should support the CID, providing that there is some concession on the property taxes. “Our property values could diminish and the downtown is definitely in need,” Young said. She asked how much risk is the board is willing to accept.

The district’s relationship with the city, and the community has been somewhat shaky in recent years. Voters in April 2019 approved a property tax hike for the school. But many voters said they felt slighted when the board later voted to transition to a four-day school week. “There were many business owners that were very concerned about the four-day week,” Young said. And in May the district declined the city’s request to return nearly $65,000 in money that the city was fined after it’s administrator/clerk at the time failed to file financial reports with the state. 

“I like using this as a stepping stone for a better relationship with our city and a better relationship with our community,” Young said.

She said the board needs to communicate with the city just what impacts the district will face in the event that the tax abatement policy is put in place.

Vandelicht echoed her sentiments, and said he is concerned about the lack of details that have been formulated thus far. “I would like us to be a partner in this. But there needs to be communication. Someone needs to come talk to us,” he said. “There’s a lot we don’t know.”

Ultimately, the board decided to draft a document with questions and talking points to present to proponents of the CID as a way of opening lines of communication. “This is a complicated situation,” said Young.

In other business, the board approved policy updates along with the amended fiscal year 2020 budget, and the proposed fiscal year 2021 budget. The district’s fiscal year begins July 1.

The board also approved bids for food vendors based on recommendations from food service director Paula Volkmann. The costs of meals will stay the same for the next school year.

The next regular meeting of the school board will be August 19, as the board does not meet during the month of July. 

School Board, CID

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