Riverview School Board Adopts Budget With a 0.7364-Mill Tax Increase

Residents of the Riverview School District will pay more in taxes next school year.

On Monday, the Riverview School Board approved a $17.1 million budget with a 0.7364-mill real estate tax increase. With the tax increase, the owner of a $100,000 home would pay about $73 more in school taxes next school year.

The millage rate is 24.7864.

Taxpayers can pay their taxes in three equal installments, said Superintendent Charles Erdeljac. The budget will be available for public review at all school buildings, the , and the district administration office.

The budget does not include teacher furloughs or any additional state revenue. It has been speculated the district could receive about $150,000 to $200,000 in basic education subsidy and accountability block grant money if a bill in the state Legislature that would restore funding to districts is passed.

Teachers agreed to a wage freeze next school year.

School board member John Hackworth said  balancing a budget without the wage freeze would have been devastating.

He also said it's hard to balance the budget without final numbers from the state.

If the district receives that extra money, Hackworth said, district officials should try their hardest to put the money toward the 2012-13 school budget.

"If we get the money, it'll put us in a better position next year," he said.